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Chelmsford, Massachusetts 



Proceedings 
at the Celebration of the 

250th ANNIVERSARY 



OF THE 



Incorporation of the Town 

May28. 29. 30, 31 
1905 



Report of the Committee of Arrangements 






Selectmen of the Town of Chelmsford : 

WALTER PERHAM, Chairman 
R. WILSON DIX JOHN J. DUNN 

A. HEADY PARK JAMES P. DUNIGAN 

Town Clerk : 

EDWARD J. ROBBINS 

Town Treasurer: 

ERVIN W. SWEETSER 






CONTENTS. 

Page 

Editor's Introduction 5 

Action of the Town and Meetings of the General Committee. . . 8 

Sub-Committees 10 

Treasurer's Statement 13 

Invitations (General Invitation) 15 

(Invitation to Guests) 16 

General Programme 17 

Sunday, May 28. 

Sermons at the Churches 20 

The Union Service in the Pavilion 21 

Address by the Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, D. D 25 

Monday, May 29. 

Historical Exhibit opened 31 

Exercises at the Town Hall 33 

Introductory Address, J. Adams Bartlett 33 

Address of Welcome, Walter Perham 35 

Response, Prof. Charles F. Emerson 36 

Historical Address, Henry S. Perham 39 

Band Concerts and Reception to Home Comers 54 

The Celebration at North Chelmsford 55 

Tuesday, May 30. 

Memorial Day Exercises 57 

Address by the Hon. Samitel L. Powers 58 

Children's Day Exercises 62 

Collation and Entertainment 63 

The Old Folks' Concert 65 

Wednesday, May 31. 

The Excursions 67 

The Banquet and Post-prandial Speaking 67 

The Concert and Reception 81 

The Anniversary Ball 81 

Historic Houses and Sites 83 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The Anniversary Committee. 

Seal of the Town of Chelmsford. 

People coming from the Town Hall on Monday afternoon. 

The Band Concert on the Common Wednesday morning. 

Interior of the Pavilion at the beginning of the Banquet. 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 



TO commemorate an honorable past is wise and commend- 
able. It is prudent and farseeing to preserve for future gene- 
rations a record of such a proceeding. The celebration of two 
hundred and fifty years of corporate existence is an event not 
of such frequent occurrence as to be uninteresting, and when 
its features are felicitous in plan and faultless in execution, there 
is an especial reason for making the stor}^ a part of the records 
of the town which it chiefly concerns. The committee having 
in charge the celebration of the Quarter Millennial Anniversary 
of the Incorporation of the Town of Chelmsford may, therefore, 
justly feel some satisfaction in presenting their report, which, 
by the vote of the town, they are to make at the Annual Town 
Meeting of 1906. 

There are occasions which, perhaps because of their merit 
and spirit, seem to be especially favored in their management 
and meteorological conditions. The celebration here reported 
was unusually happy in every particular. The old Town, 
clothed in the bright verdure of grass and foliage, presented a 
beavitiful appearance. The weather was ideal. A night shower 
laid the dust and added to the sweet freshness of the springtime. 
The machinery of the management moved like clockwork, 
everything on the programme came on at the appointed hour, 
and hundreds of home comers entered into the spirit of the occa- 
sion, and enjoyed it to the full. The celebration was not cheap- 
ened by advertising; the only notice sent abroad was contained 
in the individual invitations, and in the comments of the press. 
No fakir or vendor was allowed in the village: the streets, private 
lawns and public squares received special care; and all was done 
in a quiet, dignified manner worthy of the occasion. 

5 



The band concerts greatly enhanced the pleasure of those 
in attendance, and Chelmsford may well be pleased with the 
performance of her own musicians, and take satisfaction in the 
excellence which marked the rendition of the whole musical pro- 
gramme. 

The ringing of the bells at sunrise and sunset was a pleasing 
feature, and thanks are due to the ringers who gave their services: 
Albert H. Davis, Fred A. Russell, Ira G. George, Edgar R. Par- 
ker, Charles J. Willsteed. Recognition should be made of the 
services of the librarians, Mr. C. H. Greenleaf and Mr. E. R. 
Clark, who kept the Adams Library open to visitors during the 
celebration. A register to receive the names of visitors was kept 
there. 

The commendable care bestowed upon the streets by David 
Higgins, highway surveyor, should be mentioned. 

Surprise has been expressed that a celebration on such an 
elaborate plan, and lasting four days, could be carried on success- 
fully with such a small amount of money. It was made possible 
only by a careful consideration of every detail, and because the 
members of the various committees, with the cheerful co-opera- 
tion of the townspeople generally, were willing to do a vast 
amount of work and receive no compensation other than the 
satisfaction brought them by the unqualified success of the cele- 
bration. 

About 1200 invitations were sent out to former Chelms- 
ford people or their descendants, going to five hundred towns, 
in forty-two states and two territories, showing how widely the 
sons and daughters of Chelmsford are scattered over the country. 

The impression which visitors carried away with them was 
that the entire celebration was a delightful success, unmarred 
by a single untoward circumstance, and the wish was more than 
once expressed that it might have continued during seven days 
instead of four. 

Many expressions of gratification were received from visitors 
after their return home. One writes from a distant city: "I 
thank you with other Chelmsford friends for much that I thor- 

6 



oughly enjoyed. Everything was in such perfect taste, so quietly 
self-respectful ; and it is always so hard not to overdo." Another 
writes: "I enjoyed every moment while I was there. Chelmsford 
has a right to be proud, and you of the Committee are to be con- 
gratulated in sincerity for the splendid work so carefully planned 
and carried out. It was, indeed, a great thing, and the 250th 
anniversary will be a brilliant historic landmark." 

It is with painful regret, in which the Editor shares, that 
the Anniversary Committee, at the moment of issuing this report, 
are called upon to record the death of their Secretary, Mr. Henry 
Spaulding Perham, whose ability and untiring activity con- 
tributed much to the character and success of Chelmsford's 
Quarter Millennial Celebration, not only in the Committee's 
preparation for the event, but also in the Historical Address 
embodied in this report. In the death of Mr. Perham, the town 
loses its Historian and one of its most prominent and valued 
citizens; and the members of the Committee mourn a personal 
friend, with whom they have been most pleasantly associated. 

The Editor desires to express his thanks to those who have 
furthered his endeavors to compile for the Committee a complete 
report of the proceedings, and trusts that the result of his labor 
will meet with the approval of the Committee and of those who 
may read the report. 

Wilson Waters. 



ACTION OF THE TOWN AND MEETINGS OF THE 
GENERAL COMMITTEE. 

At the annual town meeting held in 1904, "Under Article 8, 
'Voted that a public observance be held in 1905, by the town, 
of the 250th anniversary of its incorporation, and that a commit- 
tee be chosen to take the matter into consideration and report 
at a future meeting.' This committee, to report at a future 
meeting, was appointed upon nomination of Rev. Wilson Waters, 
as follows: Henry S. Perham, J. Adams Bartlett, Joseph E. 
Warren, Harry L. Parkhurst, Arthur H. Sheldon, Hubert Bearce, 
Daniel P. Byam, George F. Snow, Erastus A. Bartlett." 

— From the Town Records. 

This General Committee held twenty-four meetings prior to 
the celebration and three meetings after the event. The meet- 
ings were held at the Town Hall, the railway station and Bart- 
lett & Dow's in Lowell. They were characterized by such inter- 
est, general harmony of sentiment and faithful activity, that 
successful arrangements were assured from the beginning. Dif- 
ferences of opinion in discussion gave way to the vote of the ma- 
jority, and the plan of the celebration took shape in the early 
meetings of the committee. 

The first meeting was held at the Selectmen's room, Town 
Hall, May 31, 1904, with Mr. Perham in the chair. J. Adams 
Bartlett was chosen chairman, and Henry S. Perham, secretary. 

At the annual town meeting, March 27, 1905, the committee 
made a report, recommending that the celebration continue 
four days, viz., Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 
28, 29, 30 and 31, 1905; and also presented a programme which 
was the same as that finally carried out. 

At the annual town meeting in 1905, "Under Article 10, 'At 
the request of the anniversary committee to see if the town will 
vote to raise and appropriate the sum of twenty-five hundred 
dollars ($2500) to defray the expense of the celebration of the 
two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its incorporation, which 
the town voted at its last annual meeting to hold,' Mr Henry 



S. Perham, as chairman of the committee, stated that, upon 
reconsideration, the committee wished to ask that the sum of 
$1500 be substituted in the article in the place of $2500." The 
town voted to appropriate $1500. "Upon motion of Wilson 
Waters, it was voted that the same committee that was chosen 
last year to make arrangements for celebrating the 250th anni- 
versary be the committee to have charge of the celebration, 
that they have power to appoint sub-committees to assist them, 
and that they shall receive all money, and pay all bills contracted 
by them and make their report to the next annual town meeting." 

— From the Town Records. 

At the meeting of the committee on March 28, 1905, it was 
voted that the organization of the committee remain as before, 
and that Joseph E. Warren act as treasurer. The land ofII..K. 
Howard was selected as the most suitable spot for the tent. The 
owner, now a non-resident, generously made no charge for the 
use of his land. Being near at hand, the Central Congregational 
society thoughtfully offered their vestry as a waiting-room. 

The committee's revised estimates were as follows: 
For tent, including seats, tables and speakers' stand . . $ 350 00 

Sunday services ' 50 00 

Historical exhibit 50 00 

Monday, p. m., music 25 00 

Children's entertainment, collation, music, transport- 
ation, etc 300 00 

Memorial Day (plus $100 voted by town) 75 00 

Decorations 300 00 

Banquet, invited guests, guarantee 200 00 

Banquet music 75 00 

Printing 100 00 

PoHce 25 00 

$1550 00 

Several months before the celebration, the general committee 
suggested to the school committee that special attention be 
given to the study of local history. This was done, and the very 

9 



creditable work of the children was shown iin the historical 
exhibit. It was voted that the Town Hall should be decorated 
inside and out; the Adams Library on the outside, and the 
speakers' stand in the tent. This was done by Young & Co., 
decorators, of Lowell. 

The monument on the common, erected in 1859 to the mem- 
ory of the Chelmsford men who gave their lives in the War of the 
Revolution, was also decorated with the national colors; and 
many private residences, as well as stores, were handsomely 
adorned with flags and bunting. 

An information bureau was established in the building ad- 
joining the post office, with Mr. Martin Robbins in charge. It 
was provided that there should be a restaurant opened in the 
lower part of the Town Hall. This was done by F. E. Harris 
of Lowell. Both of these proved to be of great convenience to 
many people. 

The general committee desire to express their thanks to 
the officers of Troop F, for their kindness in allowing the use of 
their room in the Town Hall for the committee's headquarters. 
Also they thank the Police Board of Lowell for furnishing three 
officers without charge. 

Chairmen of sub-committees were chosen as follows: 

J. E. Warren, Children's Day. 

H. S. Perham, Historical Exhibit. 

H. S. Perham, Sunday Services. 

J. A. Bartlett, Invitations and Guests. 

E. A. Bartlett, Dinner and Collations. 

J. A. Bartlett, Decorations, Tent, Music. 

H. L. Parkhurst, Old Folks' Concert. 

J. E. Warren, Hospitality. 

J. A. Bartlett, Ball. 

A. H. Sheldon, Entertainment and Reception of Guests. 

H. S. Perham, Historic Spots. 

H. L. Parkhurst, Printing. 

H. S. Perham, Visitors' Excursions. 

10 



Assistants were appointed as follows: 

Mr. Warren appointed these assistants on the Hospitality 
committee: 

A. H. Sheldon, Wm. J. Quigley, Joseph A. Parkhurst, E. A. 
Bartlett, Frank C. Byam, E. W. Sweetser, C. E. Bartlett, L. J. 
Parkhurst, Dr. Amasa Howard. 

Mr. Warren appointed these assistants on Children's enter- 
tainment: 

COMMITTEE ON SPORTS. 

Karl M. Perham, Ralph Adams, R. W. Emerson, A. H. 
Sheldon, 2nd, Fred Snow. 

Mr. Sheldon appointed these assistants on the Entertainment 
and Reception committee : 

Walter Perham, Chas. E. Bartlett, Capt. John J. Monahan, 
Lieut. Wm. J. Quigley, Geo. P. Mansfield, Wm. H. Shedd. 

Mr. J. A. Bartlett appointed these assistants on the Ball 
committee: 

Floor director, Harry L. Parkhurst; aids, Chas. E. Bartlett, 
W. A. Ingham, John B. Emerson, Josiah E. Marshall, Wm. H. 
Shedd, Paul Button, John C. Varney, John F. Shaw. 

Mr. E. A. Bartlett appointed these assistants on the Dinner 
committee: 

Harry L. Parkhurst, Joseph E. Warren, James P. Emerson, 
Daniel P. Byam, Henry S. Perham. 

Mr. Perham appointed these assistants on the Historical 
committee: 

Rev. Wilson Waters, Miss Martha E. Dadmun, Miss Martha 
E. Warren, Mrs. NeUie P. Parker, Mr. Edward L. Stearns, Miss 
Sarah L. Putnam, Miss Emma J. Gay, Mr. Fred L. Fletcher, Mrs. 
R. Wilson Dix, Miss Harriet M. Emerson, Mrs. G. Thomas Park- 
hurst, Mrs. Edwin R. Clark. 

11 



The general committee wore red badges with gilt lettering. 

The historical committee wore light blue badges with black 
lettering. 

The reception and entertainment committee wore white 
badges with blue lettering. 

The committee on sports wore yellow badges with black 
lettering. 

The committee on ball wore white badges with red lettering. 

Edward Redmond was granted the exclusive privilege of 
selling souvenir badges, which were of red ribbon with gilt letter- 
ing and a pendant of metal and enamel, bearing the seal of the 
town of Chelmsford. 

At the meeting of the general committee on August 1, the 
matter of printing a report of the proceedings at the celebration 
was discussed, and it was reported that Dr. Willard Parker of 
New York had offered to bear a part of the expense. 

A committee consisting of H. S. Perham, Geo. F. Snow and 
Rev. Wilson Waters was chosen to consider the matter of pub- 
lishing. On September 23rd, Mr. Waters reported for the com- 
mittee an outline of the proposed volume ; the report was accepted 
and the committee continued with full power to prepare and 
print the proceedings at the Celebration. The committee re- 
quested Mr. Waters to gather the material and edit the same. 



12 



Report of the Treasurer of the Anniversary Committee. 

Your treasurer charges himself -with money received as follows: 

Sale of banquet tickets $ 455 00 

Sale of ball tickets 62 00 

Net for care of clothing 20 

Net on Old Folks' concert 85 56 

For catering privilege 47 65 

Of J. P. Emerson, quartermaster Chelmsford Veteran Associa- 
tion 62 95 



Total 713 36 

Of town treasurer 1 ,300 00 



Making a total received of $2,013 36 

And is credited by cash paid as follows : 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing Old Folks' concert tickets 1 50 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing 15badges, $1.00 and veterans' dinner 

tickets, $2.00 3 00 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing programmes, etc 34 68 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing invitations, folders, etc 4 45 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing 1100 invitations, envelopes, etc 20 45 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing 100 singers' tickets 1 00 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing 2000 programmes 16 50 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing 1100 tickets 4 75 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing 1000 Union service programmes, etc. 8 55 

American Express Co 1 00 

Thorp & Martin Co., Blanks and labels 1 35 

R. W. Emerson, P. M., Stamps 20 00 

H. S. Perham, secretary's expenses 5 44 

Geo. W. Foote, helper 7 40 

Mrs. A. H. Davis, cleaning show cases, etc 118 

E. W. Kennan, baker 15 

E. E. Hildreth, jumping poles 1 50 

A. E. Adams, treasurer Chelmsford band 75 00 

J. M. Missud, treasurer Salem Cadet band 204 25 

Prof. F. O. Harrell 16 10 

J. P. Emerson, moving chairs, etc 2 50 

S. A. Eliot, services and expenses 27 00 



Amount carried forward $457 75 

13 



Amount brought forward $457 75 

E. R. Marshall, 29 sign boards 8 85 

J. S. Wotton, carrying singers, West Chelmsford to Chelmsford 2 00 

A. G. Green, labor on cabinets, etc 10 10 

Adams orchestra 14 00 

S. W. Parkhurst, cigars for guests on Wednesday 3 75 

M. Steinert & Sons Co. , use of piano 7 00 

C. A. Aiken, special constable 9 00 

F. E. Harris, catering, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 263 50 

B. & N. Street Railway Co., school children's tickets 25 45 

Page Catering Co 540 00 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing Children's Day programmes 2 50 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing box lunch tickets 125 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing 1 00 

G. T. Parkhurst, printing orders, programmes, etc 31 25 

A. W. Holt, building seats and tables in tent 170 00 

F. W. Worthen, special constable 12 00 

A. H. Slater, treasurer North Chelmsford band 75 00 

Richardson Hotel, board and rooms for part of the Salem Cadet 

band 11 60 

C. F. Young & Co., use of tent and decorating 215 00 

C. F. Young & Co. , decorating at North Chelmsford 20 00 

Geo. B. Wright, elm tree and setting same 23 25 

Hubert Bearce, music 8 52 

Hubert Bearce, transporting singers, etc 6 39 

W. H. Hall, prizes for sports 20 50 

M. C. Wilson, moving chairs, etc 2 00 

Making a total paid out of $1 ,941 66 

Cash in Traders' National bank 71 70 

Total $2,013 36 

Respectftilly svxbmitted by 

Joseph E. Warren, Treasurer, 
Chelmsford, August 1, 1905. 



14 



THE INVITATIONS. 



The invitations were neatly designed, and printed in script, The 
invitations and the general programme bore this seal. 




GENERAL INVITATION. 



Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation 

OF THE Town of Chelmsford. 

1655-1905. 



The Committee in charge of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniver- 
sary of the Incorporation of the Town of Chelmsford sends greeting to all 
former residents of the Town and to all persons interested in its history 
and welfare, and requests their presence at the celebration of the Anniver- 
sary at Chelmsford Centre, May 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st, 1905. 

The enclosed program will give in detail the events connected with 
the celebration. It is expected that His Excellency the Governor of the 
Commonwealth and many other distinguished guests, as well as many 
former residents of the Town, will be present and speak at the Banquet, 
Wednesday, May 31st. 

All persons who may wish accommodation in the Town, either board 
or lodgings, can secure the same by addressing Mr. J. E. Warren, Chelms- 
ford, Mass., chairman of the Committee on Hospitality. Persons desiring 
tickets for the Banquet can secure the same by addressing the Chairman 
of the General Committee on or before May 25th. 

It is the hope of the Committee that this occasion will bring together 
many of the Sons and Daughters of the "Good Old Town of Chelmsford," 
and also all others who may be connected with it by any ties of relation- 
ship or interest. The Committee has endeavored to make the celebration 

15 



an occasion of interest to all, and, at the same time, one which shall do 
honor to the Town and be a source of pleasure to all who honor the Town 
by their presence. We hope you will endeavor to be present some part 
of the time, if not all, and help to make the occasion one of pleasant memo- 
ries. We can assure you of a hearty WELCOME HOME. 

J. Adams Bartlett, Chairman, 
Henry S. Perham, Secretary, 
J. E. Warren, Treasurer, 
E. A. Bartlett, 
Harry L. Parkhurst, 
Hubert Bearce, 
Arthur H. Sheldon, 
Geo. F. Snow, 
Daniel P. Byam. 

General Committee. 



GUEST'S INVITATION. 



Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation 

OF the Town of Chelmsford. 

1655-1905. 

The Town of Chelmsford requests the honor of your presence as its 
Guest at the Banquet on the occasion of the celebration of the Quarter 
Millennial Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town, at Chelmsford 
Centre, Wednesday, May 31, 1905, at one o'clock, p. m. 

J. Adams Bartlett, 
Chairman of Committee of Arrangements. 
Please reply to the Chairman of Committee. 



16 



GENERAL PROGRAMME. 

1655-1905. 

Quarter Millennial Anniversary Town of Chelmsford, Mass. 
Programme, May 28, 29, 30, 31, 1905. 

SUNDAY, MAY 28. 

10.45 A. M. — Religious Services in the Several Churches. 

First Congregational (Unitarian), Rev. A. D. K. Shurtlefif 

First Baptist, South Chehnsford, Rev. C. W. Williams 

Second Congregational, No. Chelmsford, Rev. D. A. Hudson 

Central Baptist, Rev. C. H. Ellis 

Methodist Episcopal, West Chelmsford, Rev. C. M. Merrill 

St. John's (Roman Catholic) , No. Chelmsford, Rev. Fr. E. T. Schofield 
All Saints' (Episcopal), Rev. Wilson Waters, Rector 

Central Congregational, Rev. A. F. Earnshaw 

3 p. M. — Union Service, Pavilion 

1 Voluntary, — Gloria from 12th Mass Mozart 

2 Invocation, Rev. C. H. Ellis 

3 Hymn, Rev. Fr. E. T. Schofield 

4 Responsive Reading, — 24th Psalm, Rev. C. W. Williams 

5 Chorus, — Festival Anthem, Buck 

6 Scripture Reading, Rev. Wilson Waters 

7 Chorus, — To Thee, O CountrjM Eichburg 

8 Prayer, Rev. A. F. Earnshaw 

9 Response, Ladies' Quartette 

10 Introduction of Speaker, Rev. D. A. Hudson 

11 Address, — The Glory of the New England Town, 

Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, D. D., Boston 

12 Hymn, — America, Rev. C. M. Merrill 

Chorus and Congregation. 

13 Benediction, Rev. A. D. K. Shurtleff 
Singing will be by chorus of 50 voices conducted by Mr. Hubert Bearce. 

MONDAY, MAY 29. 

Sunrise. — Ringing of Bells. 

10 A. m. — Historical Exhibit Opened. Vestry, Unitarian Church. 
This will remain free to the public until 9 p. m., Wednesday. 

17 



10.30 A. M. — Concert on Common, North Chelmsford Band, 

Mr. Hubert Bearce, Conductor 
2 p. M. — Anniversary Exercises. Town Hall 

Music, North Chelmsford Band 

J. Adams Bartlett, President of the day. 

Address of Welcome, Walter Perham, Chairman of Selectmen 

Response, Prof. Chas. F. Emerson, Dean of Dartmouth College 

Music, — Clarinet Solo. 

Address,— The Town our Fathers Builded, Henry S. Perham 

Music, Band 

Sunset. — Ringing of Bells. 
8 p. M. — Concert on Common, Chelmsford Centre Band 

Concert at North Chelmsford, North Chelmsford Band 

8.15 p. M. — Informal Reception to Home Comers, Town Hall 



TUESDAY, MAY 30. 

9 A. M. — Memorial Day Exercises. 

Conducted by Veterans' Association, Francis Hutchinson, Cominander 
Address, Hon. Samuel L. Powers, of Newton 

Music, Chelmsford Centre Band, 

Mr. G. Thomas Parkhurst, Conductor 



CHILDREN'S DAY. 

12 M. — Collation to School Children. 

1 p. M. — Children's Entertainment. 

Prof. F. O. Harrell, Magician and Entertainer 
Followed by Sports, Games, etc. 
Music, Chelmsford Centre Band 

8 P. M. — Concert, Town Hall 

Songs of "Ye Olden Time" by 40 singers in ancient costtnne. Con- 
ducted by Mr. Arthur W. Allen, of Everett, assisted b}^ the Chelms- 
ford Orchestra. 



WEDNESDAY, MAY 31. 

Sunrise. — Ringing of Bells. 

9 A. M. — Excursions will be arranged for visitors to places of interest 

about the town. 

10 A. M. — Concert on Common, Salem Cadet Band 

18 



1 p. M. — Banquet, Anniversary Pavilion 

Rev. Wilson Waters, Chairman and Toastmaster. 
His Excellency William L. Douglas, Governor of the Commonwealth, 
is expected, with other distingiiished gtiests, to take part in the post- 
prandial speaking. 
Music, Salem Cadet Band 

2 p. M. — The pavilion will be open to the public before the speaking. 

8 p. M. — Concert and Reception, Town Hall 

10 p. M. — Anniversary Ball. 

Salem Cadet Orchestra, 8 pieces. Dancing till 2 a. m. 

Tickets to Old Folks' Concert, Tuesday evening, 25 cents. 

Tickets to Banquet, Wednesday, $1.00. 

Tickets to Ball, admitting lady and gentleman, $2.00. 

A restaurant in lower town hall, conducted by F. E. Harris of Lowell, 
will provide meals at all hours, at moderate prices. 

J. Adams Bartlett, 
Henry S. Perham, 
Joseph E. Warren, 
Harry L. Parkhurst, 
Geo. F. Snow, 
Arthur H. Sheldon, 
Hubert Bearce, 
Erastus a. Bartlett, 
Daniel P. Byam, 

Committee of Arrangemxcnts. 



19 



SUNDAY. 

The opening day of the Celebration was an ideal Sunday, and 
large numbers attended the various places of worship. The 
services were of peculiar interest, and from every pulpit were 
heard earnest words relating to the historic occasion and its 
significance. The G. A. R. veterans of Chelmsford attended 
All Saints' Church in a body. The sermons were as follows: 

First Congregational (Unitarian). Founded in 1655. 
Sennon by the pastor, Rev. A. D. K. Shurtleff. 
Text : The place whereon thou standest is holy ground. — Exodus 3 : 5. 
Subject : The Glory of the Past and the Glory of the Future. 

First Baptist, South Chelmsford. Founded in 1771. 

Sermon by the pastor, Rev. C. W. Williams. 

Text: But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is 
with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.— II 
Peter, 3: 8. 

Subject: God's Relation to Time. 

Second Congregational, North Chelmsford. Fotinded in 1824. 
Sermon by the pastor, Rev. D. A. Hudson. 

Text: Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set. 
Proverbs, 22: 28. 
Siibject: The Ecclesiastical History of the Town. 

Central Baptist. Founded in 1847. 

Sermon by the pastor, Rev. C. H. Ellis. 

Text : Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set — Prov- 
erbs, 22: 28. 
Subject: Removing the Old Landmarks. 

Methodist Episcopal, West Chelmsford. Founded in 1848. 
Sermon by the pastor. Rev. C. M. Merrill. 

Text: For our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for 
a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. — Philippians, 3: 20. R. V. 
Subject: Citizenship. 

St. John's (Roman Catholic) North Chelmsford. Founded in 1860. 
Sermon by the rector. Rev. E. T. Schofield. 
Text: The Gospel for the day, St. John, 16: 23-30. 
Subject of preliminary remarks: Then and Now. 



20 



All Saints' (Episcopal). Founded in 18G7. 

Sermon by the rector, Rev. Wilson Waters. 

Text: And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine 
eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that 1 may dwell 
there. — I Samuel, 27: 5. 

Subject: The Country Town as a Factor in the National Life. 

Central Congregational. Founded in 1876. 

Sermon by the pastor. Rev. A. F. Earnshaw. 

Text: But thou shall remember the Lord thy God; for it is He that 
giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He 
sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. — Deuteronomy, 8: 18. 

Subject: The Message of Puritanism. 



Union Service in the Pavilion. 



PROGRAMME. 

1 Voluntary. — Gloria from 12th Mass Mozart 

2 Invocation 

Rev. C. H. Ellis. 

3 Hymn. — God Bless our Native Land! 

Rev. Fr. E. T. Schofield. 

Chorus and Congregation. 

God bless our native land! For her our prayers shall be, 

Firm may she ever stand Our fathers' God, to thee, 

Throtigh storm and night ! On thee we wait ! 

When the wild tempests rave, Be her walls Holiness ; 

Ruler of wind and wave. Her rulers, Righteousness ; 

Do thou our country save. Her ofhcers be Peace ; 

By thy great might! God save the State. 

Lord of all truth and right. 
In whom alone is might, 

On thee we call! 
Give us prosperit)' ; 
Give us true liberty; 
May all the oppressed go free; 

God save us all! 

21 



4 Responsive Reading. — 24th Psalm. 

Rev. C. W. Williams. 

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they 
that dwell therein. 

For he hath fotmdcd it upon the seas, and established it upon the 
floods. 

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ? or who shall stand in his 
holy place ? 

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up 
his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 

He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from 
the God of his salvation. 

This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O 
Jacob. 

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting 
doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 

Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord 
mighty in battle. 

Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors ; 
and the King of glory shall come in. 

Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of 
glory. 

5 Chorus. — Festival Anthem Buck 

6 Scripture Reading 

Rev. Wilson Waters. 

7 Chorus. — To Thee, O Country! Eichburg 

8 Prayer 

Rev. a. F. Earnshaw. 

9 Response 

Ladies' Quartette. 

10 Introduction OF Speaker 

Rev. D. a. Hudson. 

11 Address. — The Glory of the New England Town 

Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, D. D., of Boston. 
22 



12 Hymn. — America 



Rev. C. M. Merrill. 



Chorus and Congregation. 



My country, 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, — 

Of thee I sing: 
Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the pilgrims' pride, 
From every mountain side 

Let freedom ring ! 



Let music swell the breeze, 
And ring from all the trees 

Sweet freedom's song! 
Let mortal tongues awake ; 
Let all that breathe partake ; 
Let rocks their silence break. 

The sound prolong! 



My native cotmtry, thee, — 
Land of the noble free, — 

Thy name I love : 
I love thy rocks and rills. 
Thy woods and templed hills; 
My heart with rapture thrills 

Like that above. 



Our fathers' God, to thee, 
Author of liberty, — 

To thee we sing : 
Long may our land be bright 
With freedom's holy light; 
Protect us by thy might. 

Great God, our King. 



13 Benedictiox 



Rev. A. D. K. Shurtleff. 



The Afternoon Service in the Pavilion. 

With a warm sun and cloudless sky, the people, nearly two 
thousand in number, including many home-comers and friends 
from surrounding towns, assembled in the pavilion. On the 
raised platform, on the south side of the great tent, were seated 
the ministers of the town, the speaker of the day, and a chorus 
of about 100 voices, under the direction of Mr. Hubert Bearce, 
which did excellent service. The music was grand and inspiring. 
The Ladies' Quartette consisted of Mrs. Hubert Bearce, Mrs. A. 
M. Warren, Mrs, C. E. Bartlett and Mrs. Wm. C. Ward. 



23 



List of Singers at the Union Service. 

Sopranos — 

Mrs. Hubert Bearce, Miss Belle E. Smith, Mrs. Harry J. 
Maguire, Mrs. Henry Woods, Miss Ethel Wotton, Miss Josephine 
McCabe, Miss Ethel Noyes, Miss Florence Shaw, Miss Maud M. 
Young, Miss Florence Queen, Mrs. Harry C. Trombly, Mrs. Viola 
Mitchell, Miss Lizzie Draper, Miss Anna Mackay, Miss Addie 
Hyde, Miss Ella Gale, Miss Eva Lombard, Miss Georgia Story, 
Miss Rose Wright, Miss Hattie Hall, Mrs. David Billson, Miss 
Emma Brown, Mrs. Oscar Naylor, Mrs. Arthur H. Slater, Mrs. 
J. S. Byam, Miss Carrie ElHot, Mrs. E. T. Adams, Mrs. A. M. War- 
ren, Miss Madge Ashworth, Mrs. H. H. Rice, Mrs. Amasa Howard, 
Miss Emma J. Perham, Miss M. E. Warren, Miss Abbie Ford, 
Mrs. W. F. Putney, Mrs, J. H. Parker, Miss Harriet M. Emerson, 
Miss Nora H. Brooke, Miss Areminta V. Paasche, Miss Alice 
Gould, Miss Belle Adams, Miss Marian Adams, Mrs. J. H. Wilson, 
Mrs. E. F. Parkhurst, Mrs. H. L. Parkhurst, Mrs. Francis Day. 

Altos — 

Mrs. Will E. Blakeslee, Mrs. C. F. Scribner, Miss Florence 
Bearce, Miss Marian Scribner, Miss Clara McCoy, Miss Lizzie 
Larkin, Miss Elizabeth Thorne, Mrs. Grace Smith, Mrs. John 
Toye, Mrs. William C. Ward, Miss Alice M. Stearns, Mrs. Walter 
Perham, Miss Emma M. Paasche, Mrs. Chapman, Mrs. Nellie 
P. Parker, Mrs. David George, Mrs. J. E. Osterhout, Miss Flor- 
ence Feindel, Mrs. C. E. Bartlett. 
Tenors — ■ 

Hubert Bearce, Carl Noyes, Joseph Marshall, Henry McCoy, 
Albert C. Mitchell, Peter Pickens, James P. Quigley, Edward 
L. Stearns, Edward J. Robbins, Harry L. Parkhurst, Arthur M. 
Warren, J. S. Byam. 

Basses — 

Harry C. Trombly, John Shaw, Stewart Mackay, Henry 
J. Maguire, John A. Kendrick, Carl Smith, David Billson, James 
Reid, H. H. Rice, Ralph Adams, WilHam Adams, E. B. Emerson, 
Wilham C. Ward, E. T. Adams. 

24 



Karl M. Perham and Charles Holt acted as ushers. 

The first hymn was read by Rev. Joseph Aubrey Chase, of 
Brooklyn, a former pastor of the First Congregational Society, 
in place of Fr. Schofield, who could not be present. The invoca- 
tion and prayer, and all other parts of the service, were excellent 
and appropriate. The portions of Scripture read were the first 
eight verses of the Forty-fourth Psalm, and Zechariah 8: 1-8, 
16, 17, 20, 21, 22. 

Rev. Mr. Hudson, in introducing Dr. Eliot, referred to the 
religious character of the first settlers, and to the fact that, for 
more than 100 years, there was but one religious society and one 
place of worship, mentioning also that the speaker of the day 
bore the name of one (the Rev. John Eliot) who preached to 
the Indians in this vicinity 250 years ago. 

REV. DR. ELIOT'S ADDRESS. 

"Words pass as wind, but where great deeds were done 
A power abides transfused from sire to son." 

So sings the great poet of New England. We are here to seek the 
secret of that power, and to enter into its prophetic strength. 

This celebration is not instituted merely to nourish local pride or to 
make complaisant record of the deeds of our forefathers. We want to 
lift up the clear light of past experience, that it may shine not only on 
the road already travelled, but also on paths as yet untrod. In recalling 
the aims and achievements of the forefathers, we learn what manner of 
people we should be. 

Were such celebrations a matter of mere ceremonial observance .their 
multiplication would be idle and oppressive. But they are no lifeless and 
formal events, but instinct with significance. They furnish the occasion 
for just tributes to the memory of brave men and women, and for the en^ 
largement of our knowledge of the historic and romantic associations of 
familiar scenes. They remind us that there is something worthy of com- 
memoration in the history of New England, and thc}^ upbuild an enlight- 
ened patriotism. 

Every farmer here knows that he must sometimes dig round the roots 
if he would have his trees bear rich fruit. So the time and money spent 
in this celebration, this digging among the memories of two hundred and 
fifty years, is not for a passing holiday merely, but that our lives may 
make new growth and bear more abundant frviit in the years that are to 
come. 

25 



An interest in the lives and characters and exploits of our ancestors 
is natural and just. It is not only pardonable, but it is our plain duty to 
indulge it. Let reverence and affection rescue the names and deeds of 
the fathers of this town from forgetfulness. Let a triumphant posterity 
exult in the days of small beginnings, and celebrate the heritage of bless- 
ings which it is ours to enjoy and to faithfully transmit. Even if it be 
true, as doubtless it is, that only a small proportion of this assembly can 
trace descent from the original inhabitants, even if most of us come from 
other towns or other lands, it will do us good to discover what manner of 
men they were who planted Chelmsford. 

Local history is the root of national history. Our national history 
has, indeed, its own wonderftil and widespread pattern and design, which 
can be seen and appreciated only when set before us upon an ample scale ; 
but the detail of the pattern, and the individual threads of the fabric, are 
to be found in local, family, village history. There are the dyes that give 
color to the story. There are the touches of reality that give human inter- 
est to the record. The warp and woof of history are in the daily doings 
of average people, in the loves and courtships and married devotion that 
we can read between the lines of every family genealogy, in the hardy 
industry that cleared the forests and built the stone walls and dug wells 
and laid out roads and raised dwellings, in the eager cravings that founded 
schools and churches. Therefore it is that we can best trace the record 
of the nation that we love, and enter into the secrets of her growth and 
stability when we survey the history of just such a typical New England 
town as Chelmsford. 

The glory of the state is not in the number of bushels of wheat it 
raises or tons of coal it mines or miles of railroad track it lays, but in the 
type of character it produces, the standard of intelligence it upholds, and 
the best personality it develops. It is only when a state or a community 
adapts its institutions to the development of true manhood in its citizens 
— it is only then that it begins to make enduring history, and that the 
world begins to read it and draw life from it. 

"The value of a nation," said Lowell, "is weighed in scales more deli- 
cate than the balance of trade. On the map, you can cover Athens with 
a pin-point, and Judea with the finger-tip, yet in those insignificant places 
the impulses have been given which have not ceased to direct civilization." 

We rejoice, indeed, in the energy that overcomes the brute forces of 
nature, that plows the prairies, that disembowels the earth, that harnesses 
the torrent to its wheels, that rivets state to state with bands of steel, 
that bids us converse with distant lands in electric whispers. These 
achievements stir our just pride, but the boast of our generation ought to 
be not in what our people get, so much as in what they are. Our patriot- 
ism ought to take supremest satisfaction not in the visible prosperity 

26 



our land enjoys, but in the moral forces that make that prosperity possible; 
not in the consequences, but in the causes. Good is the satisfaction we 
take in the busy whir of mill and factory, in the spread of commerce, in 
output of field and mine; but a truer justification for our rejoicing is in 
the quality and strength of Ainerican manhood and womanhood. 

New England has had her brilliant scholars, her great statesmen, her 
philosophers, artists, emancipators, soldiers, law-givers, and they have 
lent undying lustre to our nation. But the qualities that have made New 
England are the qualities of the common people. Her ideal citizen is not 
an exceptional genius, but a plain, straight-forward, law-abiding, liberty- 
loving man, a man with healthy conscience and a cheerful determination 
to do his duty in every walk of life. 

The story is told of a visitor from the fertile West, driving over our 
hills and wondering how people could wrestle a living out of siich a stony 
soil. Finally, he pulled up where a farmer stood at his pasture gate, and 
said, "Friend, will you tell me what possible crop you can raise on a farm 
like that?" "Stranger," it was answered him, "we raise men." 

It has been well said that "God sifted a whole nation that He might 
send choice grain over into this wilderness." There is no doubt that the 
people who planted this town were sprung from a good stock. The good 
blood here, however, was not concentrated in a few families or individuals. 
The people who settled Chelmsford were very much on the same level of 
material prosperity, intelligence, and social standing, and we may be sure 
that a community of good men and women on the level of our common 
huinanity is a better start for a new civilization than one composed of a 
few families lifted into prominence and the majority left in ignorance. 
The customs of common folk, which to some minds seem the antithesis 
of progress, are revealed as the essentials of progress. An hereditary 
drill made possible peace, liberty and prosperity. 

The traits of the New England character that have proved the dyna- 
mic of national progress have been abundantly illustrated in the history 
of this town. Certainly the first was enterprise and pioneer pluck. It 
took an immense amount of grit to plant this community. There were 
no highways when our fathers came here, and they built their homes in 
such clearings as they could make along the water courses or among the 
woods. The sound of the axe rang bravely through the forest, and grad- 
ually, the Indian trail was converted into a road, and the tangled vales 
and uplands slowly, by dint of patient toil, became pastures. The motto 
of the forefathers was, "What ought to be done, can be done." 

These people were extraordinarily industrious and thrifty. No eight 
hour law for them — they worked fourteen hours a day, and for recreation 
laid stone walls. The laws of service had no exception. If there were 
superior famihes here, they were probably simph-- the hardest working 

27 



men and women in the community — their superiority was not gauged by 
money, that is, but by efficiency. Thej' lived sparingly and ecomomically , 
but the characteristic element in their thrift was that they saved on the 
lower side of life to invest on the upper side of life. The money saved was 
put into church and school or to send a boy to college. These people, 
by their tireless industry and careful economy, laid the foundation of the 
industrial superiority of New England. 

Shall we not, too, remember how cultivating this soil, the soil in turn 
cultivated this good stock? The strength of the stumps our fathers pulled 
out of the swamps, and the weight of the stones they piled into walls, went 
not only into their arms and backs, but into their characters. Every 
blow struck in making a better road and a better bridge was a blow struck 
in making a better citizen. 

Our forefathers were a self-restrained people. They were not given 
to loud protestations or boasts of what they were going to perform. They 
rested on their accomplishments. They practised a sublime prudence. 
Their strength was controlled and equalized, not subject to sudden ec- 
stasies, not followed by reactions. Theirs was a sobriety of nature that 
delivered them from irregular and interrupted impulses. Violence and 
excitement were to them only signs of weakness. Exaggeration was a 
sign of lack of real conviction. Theirs was the self-control that is the 
essence of heroism. 

They were a marvellously persistent folk, and were not weary in well- 
doing, not disturbed by difficulties, not terrified by dangers, not chilled 
by neglect. They were never ready to submit to smooth compromises. 
When they had chosen their part and place, they were ready to abide by it. 
Their fortitude upbore them calmly, without passion or excitement, 
through a host of trials. They illustrated the saying, "Greater is he that 
ruleth his own spirit, than he that taketh a city." The fire of their zeal 
was not fed by the stubble of popular applause, but from their own souls, 
and so was unquenchable. 

The social life of our ancestors has often been misconstrued. We 
are apt to think that the early life of New England was cold and rigid and 
bloodless, but our forefathers were men of warm human nature, and as 
full of passions and ambitions and affections as we are today. The pres- 
sure of the great wilderness around them, and of common dangers and 
enterprises really brovtght them very near together, and we may be sure 
that the social intercourses of Sundays and town meetings helped to shape 
the character of these peoples, and to build up these citizens in a living 
community. In spite, too, of their Pviritan sternness, our forefathers 
were not withotit mother wit. Yankee shrewdness found outlet in many 
a sally and repartee that went the round of the community. A mean man 
must have been very uncomfortable in the early atmosphere of this town. 

28 



The mean man was one who did not stand up squarely to his agreements or 
to his share in the support of good institutions. This spirit still lives, 
and Yankee humor is still a marked characteristic of our population. 

We should note, too, that the intelligence and stability and prosper- 
ity of New England are in no small degree the result of our form of local 
political organization. When President John Adams was asked to men- 
tion the principal cause of the decision to resist oppression in arms, he 
answered: "The town organizations of New England. It was in these 
assemblies that the sentiments of the people were formed and their reso- 
lutions were taken." This testimony is confirmed by the judgment of 
all reflecting men. Every New England town has been a nursery of free- 
dom, and the people's great school of citizenship. It has bred in men 
the power to do their own thinking, accustomed them to the exercise of 
civil rights, and breathed into them the spirit to maintain and defend 
them. Town meeting was and is a little parliament, and a trained watch- 
ftilness over local interests was and is the best preparation for efficient 
service in the broader spheres of the commonwealth and country. The 
ballot creates in the holder of it self-respect and consciousness of power. 
Each voter learns to respect his own manhood and to submit to the will 
of the majority. Out of this model in miniature was afterwards carved 
the grandeur of the republic. So long as New England would keep its 
glory, and American liberty its oldest and surest embodiment, we should 
honor and preserve our town organizations. 

But the dynamic of all this industry and persistence and public spirit 
was in the religion of New England. Religion was the centre of old New 
England life, and it is impossible to understand the sturdy heroism of our 
fathers, without remembering that, whether they ate or drank or plowed 
or prayed, they did all to the glory of God. It was a religious affinity 
that selected the seed and sifted the material for the settlement of New 
England. It was not the conservative or the weak or the mercenary, 
bxit the bravest, strongest, most progressive souls that dared to break from 
the bonds of the past to encounter the opposition of an established church, 
and laxmch out on the sea of untried adventure. 

The religion of our forefathers failed in the virtues of charity and 
gentleness, but excelled in the virtues of honesty, self-denial, and earnest- 
ness. It imparted to its adherents exactly those qualities which are need- 
ed at the foundation of the commonwealth: sobriety, thoughtfulness, 
obedience to law, regard for the public good, and, best of all, a real moral 
fibre. Even its sternness and intolerance had their vital uses in a pioneer 
community. They were the rough bark and sharp burrs with which to 
keep the nut of the new civilization ripe. The old faiths and systems 
have now passed away, but we may well rejoice that, as under the beauty 
and fertility of this town there is a layer of hard granite, so ttnder the 
happier faith of today, there is the rugged tenacitv of Puritanism. 

29 



I venture to believe that the puritan still lives in New England. 
Still is New England the mother of men — men little given indeed 
to the expression of their feelings, sometimes careless of the 
outward grace of life, — but resourceful, self-reliant, public-spirited. When 
a vulgar materialism seems to overwhelm us, remember ths homeliness 
and simplicity of our John A. Andrew or Hannibal Hamlin, and the thous- 
ands of New Englanders, who, following the example of the fathers, have, 
of choice, sought plain living and high thinking. When cowardice holds 
our political life in its grip and bids so many of our public men speak only 
conventional and timid sophistries, then remember Charles Sumner, 
George William Curtis and William E. Russell. When literature grows 
feeble, and scandalous gossip of a great city seems to be all the intellectual 
stimulus the people can stand, then remember the pure fire of Whittier, 
the sparkle of Holmes, the insight of Emerson, the imperial uplift of Low- 
ell. When religion seems to grow corrupt, — on the one hand a clamor 
of empty noise, on the other hand a formal routine, — then remember the 
spiritual vision of Channing, the manly intensity of Phillips Brooks. 

Shall not a rebirth of the old Puritan spirit rouse our moral courage 
and restore our optimism? As the American manhood of past genera- 
tions cleared the wilderness and planted here a free state, so it is the part 
of American manhood today, not only to defend the state from ancient 
forms of tyranny withotit, but from the equally degrading forms of tyr- 
anny which may arise within, that we may be delivered not merely from 
oppressions exercised by king and church, but also from that modem form 
of oppression which confronts us — the tjTanny of bewildered and misled 
majorities. Surely there never was a time when we needed more a renewal 
of New England idealism. We need in our business morals a stronger 
sense of obligation. We need in our home life a renewed simplicity. We 
need in our religion a revival of responsibility. It is the Puritan calling 
to us across the centuries, and summoning us to the re-adjustment of the 
present with the past. No complacent self-glorification will help our 
greatness in the smallest degree. Boasting is a thoroughly provincial 
habit. No manifest destiny will save us. New emergencies have got to 
be met, just as the old evils have been met in this country hitherto, by 
thoughtful courage and by resolute vigilance, by upholding a high stand- 
ard of p>atriotism and pointing to the vision of ideal honor without which 
the people perish. Patriotism is a firm but delicate sentiment. It is like 
a family instinct — in the child a blind devotion, in the man an intelligent 
love. It is a spiritual capacity. Through a pride in our country's past, 
through love of her scenery, through subtle and traditional feelings in the 
blood, through a thousand influences which come to us out of the past 
and are interwoven with all the fibres of our being, there grows before us 
the ideal of our country. It is no lifeless idol, but an invisible divinity 
we must honor and obey. 

30 



When each man among us, beyond his home affections, beyond his 
every-day concerns, feels the pressure of those invisible ideals, then is he 
a true New Englander — worthy child of the mother of a mighty race! 



MONDAY 



The day began with the ringing of the bells. At 10 o'clock 
the Historical Exhibit was formally opened. Some account of the 
work of the committee will be of interest. 

When this committee organized for work, Mrs. G. Thomas 
Parkhurst was chosen secretary. A sub-committee to have 
charge of arranging the exhibit was appointed, of which the Rev. 
Wilson Waters v/as chairman; the other members being Mr. 
Edwin L. Stearns, Miss Martha E. Dadmun, Mrs. G. T. Park- 
hurst and Mrs. Edwin R. Clark. 

Six meetings were held with Miss Dadmun, one at the house 
of Mr. J. A. Bartlett, and one at the Rev. Mr. Waters' study. 

Great interest was manifested by the m.embers of the com- 
mittee, and the work of collecting the articles and arranging 
them was done with the intelligence and care of connoisseurs. 
The exhibit showed but a small part of the historic treasures 
contained in the homes of Chelmsford, yet it was large and com- 
plete, and of great interest and value. It was regarded by visit- 
ors as an extraordinary collection. 

The thanks of the committee are due to the First Congrega- 
tional society for the use of their vestry, in which the exhibit was 
arranged. Admission was free. The number of articles exhib- 
ited was over seven hundred, and all were gathered and returned 
to their owners without loss or damage. 

At 10 o'clock on Monday the doors were thrown wide, and 
the exhibit was formally opened. The entire committee was 
present, when, with brief and appropriate remarks, Mr. Henry 
S. Perham announced to the people, who had immediately filled 
the room, that the exhibit was now open to the public. 

31 



The articles in the collection, consisting of almost everything 
conceivable in use in the olden days, were tastefully arranged 
in three long glass cases (made of window frames and excellently 
adapted to the purpose) and upon the walls of the room. The 
cases were generously loaned by the Middlesex North Agricul- 
tural Society. An old fashioned kitchen was arranged on the 
vestry stage, with a huge fireplace and all its ancient furniture 
of two hundred years ago. In selecting articles for the exhibit, 
the rule was to take only such as were historically connected with 
Chelmsford. Many of these articles were not only interesting as 
illustrating colonial times, but were intrinsically valuable. There 
were numerous interesting portraits, photographs and daguerre- 
otypes, also two copies of old engravings of scenes in Chelms- 
ford, England, sent by Mr. Fred Spalding to Mr. Walter Perham. 
The exhibit attracted large numbers during the whole three days, 
and involved a large amount of work on the part of the committee, 
members of which were continually present, and at night the 
room was guarded by a watchman. Many expressed the wish 
that the collection might become permanent. A register kept 
here received the names of over 1,300 people. Probably three times 
that number visited the exhibit. The throng was so great that 
many, after long waiting, were unable to get to the register. 

List Of Those Who Loaned Articles For The Exhibit. 

F. L. Fletcher, D. P. Byam, G. T. Parkhurst, Miss L. R. Spalding, 
Mrs. F. E. Bean, L. Jarvis Mansfield, Miss M. E. Warren, Mrs. Thomas 
Hall, H. L. Parkhurst, Miss M. E. Dadmun, Miss Sarah L. Putnam, E. F. 
Parker, Mrs. Frank Adams, C. E. Bartlett, Miss Laura Byam, F. A. Marsh- 
all, Miss A. E. Hunt, Miss E. J. Gay, Mrs. C. Lapham, G. P. Mansfield, 
A. H. Park, Mrs. Emily Reed, John P. Eaton, H. S. Perham, E. W. Sweet- 
ser, G. E. Spalding, Mrs. R. W. Dix, J. P. Emerson, Mrs. Carrie Button, 
George E. Gould, C. A. Bride, Robert D. Russell, E. L. Stearns, Mrs. N. P. 
Parker, Geo. O. Byam, F. C. Byam, Mrs. Luther W. Faulkner, Mrs. S. W. 
Parkhurst, J. F. Parker, A. H. Sherman, Mrs. Sarah Hazen, A. F. Fletcher, 
E. E. Proctor, Mrs. B. M. Fiske, Mrs. A. P. Perham, Mrs. Fred Russell, 
Mrs. Nellie Fletcher, J. A. Bartlett, Walter Perham, Mrs. Mary O. Parker, 
Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Amos Adams, Mrs. P. M. Batchelder, Mrs. Caroline 
Gilmore, Wilson Waters, Mrs. E. R. Parker, Almon Vose, C. F. M. Fish, 

32 




&— 

^ 



S. T. Park, Miss Mary Allen, Mrs. Hannah M. Byam, John Byam, E. C. 
Perham, Mrs. Caroline Proctor, Miss Frances Warren, Charles Cutter, 
Miss Emma L. Burgess, Mrs. H. M. Blodgett, Mrs. Geo. B. Holt, Mrs. F. 
K. Ripley, Mrs. E. F. Small, Mrs. S. R. Edwards, Mrs. George B. Hall, 
Mrs. J. G. Dodge, George Swett, Miss E.J. Gay, North Chelmsford Library, 
Second Congregational Church, Judge S. P. Hadley, Mrs. Jos. Bowers, 
Mrs. O. M. Pratt, Miss Catherine Pratt, Miss M. E. Tyler, Mrs. Sarah Bent, 
Miss Mary S. Robinson, Miss Abba Smith, Miss Loraine Wightman, Mrs. 
S. Tyler, Mrs. M. E. Cushing, Mrs. E. J. Emerson, Mrs. Orrin Pierce, Amos 
B. Adams, J. Roland Parkhurst, Fred Button, Raymond Button, Royal 
Button, Mrs. Maria Spalding, Mrs. Frank Adams, Miss Julia Richardson, 
Baptist Society, Mrs. A. E. Bean, Mrs. J. E. Warren, Miss Emily Byam, 
S. W. Parkhurst, Joseph Bowers, Br. Willard Parker. 

The concert on the common closed the events of the forenoon. 

The Anniversary Exercises. 2 p. m. 

The interior of the Town Hall had been tastefully decorated 
and was filled to its fullest capacity by an intelligent and appre- 
ciative audience. On the stage were the general committee and 
the speakers. The North Chelmsford Band furnished the music. 

PRESIBENT BARTLETT'S ABBRESS. 
Fellow Citizens and Friends : 

The honor of presiding over this assemblage today has been conferred 
on me by the general committee in charge, and I accept the duty with 
pleasure. It is an honor which comes to but few men, comparatively 
speaking, to preside over a body of people assembled as you are today 
for the purpose of celebrating the 250th birthday of a town in this country. 
And it is a pleasure for me to stand here and look into the faces of you, 
who, for so many years, have been my good friends. It is a far cry back 
250 years to the time when your ancestors and mine came here and settled 
in what was then an unbroken wilderness. On the north, the lordly Merri- 
mack ran to the sea, un vexed by dam or mill wheel. On the east the 
sleepy Concord wended its way to join its forces with its larger brother. 
Hale's brook and Beaver brook wended their way through bright meadow 
or virgin forest, on their way to the great ocean. Robin's hill rose high 
above the valleys, still and silent as a sentinel standing guard over a 
camp. There was here no vision of a town, much less of a large city, such 
as is gathered today on the banks of the Merrimack. Nothing was here 
except God's sunshine and the sighing of the winds through swaying pines, 
sweet laden with the breath of spring flowers. These men and women 

33 



who gathered here, striving to make a home, and wrest a Hving out of the 
hard New England soil, builded better than they knew. For from them 
(and the same may be said of all the New England towns) have sprung 
largely the men and the women who have made this commonwealth and 
this great nation what it is today. They planted the germ which has 
grown into an "Empire of American Freemen." 

They were matter-of-fact people, made so by the circumstances which 
surrounded them and the difficulties which they had to surmount. But 
they had their ideals and their ideas, and from them came the idea which 
developed, without any precedent or formula, the government of the New 
England state embodying the greatest and "highest independence of the 
individual, consistent with the highest social and civil rights of every other 
member." 

It has been well said by another in an address on an occasion similar 
to this, that "the development of this idea created, through the sovereign- 
ty of the state, delegated to the towns, the best system of local self govern- 
ment ever devised or administered, and the existence and extent of error 
and corruption in state or municipal government today is measured by 
the line of departure from this idea. If their ideals were high, they were 
their own. If their visions were prophetic, they were their own prophets. 
They were not singing their songs in a strange land, they were tuning their 
harps on their own new Jordan. They were building a democracy, and 
took good care to leave no foothold for an aristocracy. They chose their 
parsons and representatives to the general court at the same town meeting 
and reserved the right to criticise the theology of the one and the politics 
of the other. Their enthusiasm was not formative; it was bom of an 
insistent, personal independence in religion, and by force of this rule, the 
theory of intolerance of the seventeenth century worked out the condi- 
tions of liberality in the eighteenth." 

These men and women were a benediction to their day and generation 
and no man or woman need be in the least degree ashamed today that you 
bear their good old names, or that their blood runs through your veins. 

We meet today to honor their memory, and to gather inspiration for 
our own future by looking back on what they have done. 

On yonder common stands the monument erected to the memory of 
the Revolutionary soldiers, and on that shaft, and also on your municipal 
seal, are these words: "Let the children guard what the sires have won." 
Are we doing what these words require? They apply, I know, to deeds 
done in the war ; but ' ' Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. ' ' 

There are many historic spots in this old town which should be marked 
and preserved, and I suggest that during or after this celebration a histori- 
cal society be formed by you to do this work. There are many old 
residents coming here to visit you, and I doubt not that they would be 

34 



glad to contribute to such an object, that the traditions of your and their 
ancestors may be preserved. 

Men and women of this honored old town, what I have said has been 
all in relation to the past. All about us today are your beautiful homes, 
monuments to your thrift and enterprise. 

Within the last twenty years have come into your town and into your 
homes many of the appliances of modem art and science, making your 
method of living easier, and your communications with the world and each 
other better. You have builded your public schools and opened wide 
their doors to all, improving their system to correspond with modem 
methods. 

You have, through the generosity of one of the descendants of one 
of the first settlers of the town, a beautiful public library, on whose shelves 
are gathered a treasure of literature, second to none of its size. Your 
hands have always been open to deeds of charity and mercy. What 
better record can a town have than this ? 

"Peace is at thj^ wall, and prosperity within thy gates." 



ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 

The address of welcome was delivered by Walter Perham, 
Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. He said: 

Two and one half centuries ago, when Oliver Cromwell was Lord Pro- 
tector of England, when the American Indian roamed about the fields 
and forests of Massachusetts colony, when Boston was a town and this 
community contained but 20 families, those families, our Puritan ances- 
tors, desiring to improve their condition, assembled together and estab- 
lished here the township of Chelmsford. 

We gather today with a feeling of deepest gratitude to do honor to 
those brave pioneers, and all the good citizens who, through the past, 
have fostered here the spirit of freedom, thrift and enterprise. 

Our great American nation, strong and mighty, but still ambitious 
in her youth, has witnessed many changes within the period of time which 
we commemorate. Monarchy has been supplanted by Democracy. Our 
land has broadened westward to the Pacific. The great civil strife, threat- 
ening as it did our national integrity within the memory of many of you 
here today, has become a matter of history, and the spirit of friendship 
and unity prevails throughout our land. A century and a quarter of 
Democracy brings us again closer to our mother England, with the same 
brotherhood which prompted the return of the battle flags to the regiments 
of the South. 

35 



The people of Chelmsford have been engaged for the most part in 
agricultural pursuits; some of our sons for eight generations have tilled 
the soil of their fathers, but other industries have from time to time 
played an important part. 

The first stone block erected in Boston was built of Chelmsford 
granite. 

The first match factory in the country was erected at South Chelms- 
ford. 

One of the earliest machine shops in the country is still running at 
North Chelmsford, and is now surrounded by the large plant of the Moore 
Spinning Company, employing nearly 1,000 persons, and which, with 
other adjacent propertj^ stands as a monument to the energy of Mr. Geo. 
C. Moore. 

The centre village is not given largely to mercantile pursuits, but 
furnishes attractive homes for many merchants and artisans of our 
neighboring city of Lowell. 

New and well appointed school buildings have recently been erected 
at the east and west village, at an expense of $15,000, to meet the demands 
of a growing population in those sections. Chelmsford contains few men 
of wealth or of poverty. The town has been developed by the people as 
a whole. Our citizens contribute gencrovisly to the support of schools, 
highways and public iinprovements, maintaining an unusually large 
mileage of highway. 

The sons of Chelmsford who have gone forth in the world and acquired 
wealth and fortune still cling in memory to the old hearthstone. The 
loyalty of one is well exemplified by the beautiful library over yonder, 
the gift of Mr. Amos F. Adams of Boston. 

Today our citizens show their loyalty by contributing so generously 
to this Quarter Millennial. 

We are glad to welcome our returning sons and datighters who, by 
their presence, manifest a kindly interest in their native town, and one 
of whom, a prominent educator, will greet tis from the platform. 

We are proud today of Chelmsford ; proud of her age, her record and 
her sons, and we extend to you all the right hand of fellowship and of wel- 
come to enjoy with us these anniversary exercises. 

THE RESPONSE. 

Prof. Charles F. Emerson, Dean of Dartmouth College, made 
the response. 

I am happy, thrice happy, to be here today, and on this joyous occa- 
sion to voice the feelings and sentiments of so many returning sons and 
daughters of this good old town , the dear home in early days of so many 

36 



in this assembly. Every one must recognize a sort of fellow-feeling 
springing up among those born in adjacent neighborhoods, and experience 
a strong tie of sympathy, due to identity of local origin and made enduring 
by all the forces of early associations. These ties and associations con- 
spire to make tis one today; these cords of mutual sympathy running 
back to our childhood days are stronger than "bands of steel" and bind 
us into one family in interest and affection for this, our native town. 

We are, indeed, a happy family, and we thank you for the gracious 
and generous welcome you have just extended to us; we accept it, and 
promise you that in so far as in us lies we will do our part to make this 
celebration a pleasant and profitable event in the history of Chelmsford. 
We have come home, to our dear old home, and that word means more 
to us today than ever before. It is enriched by the thought of dear ones 
who have entered into our lives and passed on ; it is dear as the home of 
our fathers and our fathers' fathers. Dear, also, to us because of the 
youthful struggles in school and out of school ; dear because we recall the 
good times at sport on the common, and the delightful walks after school, 
or on pleasant Saturday afternoons ; dear to some of us when we remember 
the good times at the singing school, and the walk home where the path 
was just wide enough for two, under the exercise of proper care. 

Dear and still dearer, because here sleeps kindred dust, and here 
are the graves of loved ones who sacrificed their lives that we might enjoy 
the perfect freedom of this, our beloved land. Such are the thoughts of 
many hearts today; words cannot describe them; money cannot purchase 
them; they are a blessed inheritance; they are the sign and pledge of a 
healthy social life. Let us be boys and girls again for the time being; 
this world has very little use for a man or woman who forgets the joys of 
youth. We must not decry sentiment; it is a large part of our lives; it 
is a sweetness in the midst of the trials and troubles of life; the sentiment 
of local pride and local attachment is of the same quality as patriotism 
and may bear the same name. We love our country after we have learned 
to love our home, and because of that love; it is the home feeling, in a 
larger and broader sense, at first, as a child, enclosed within four walls, 
then expanding, in youth and early manhood, to embrace the town, the 
state, and, finally, the country at large. 

But we are here todaj'' to speak of the town, and what do we mean 
by that term? Surely not the land, farm joining farm, whether fertile 
field or heavily wooded acres, not the roads, nor the hills, nor the brooks; 
not even the people who live within its boundary lines at any given time; 
it is the sum total of these, and much more than these; it is the aggregate 
of all the personalities, together with the institutions of government, of 
education, and of religion; it is, in part, the free, popular government 
where each man is the equal of every other man ; it is especially the ideals 

37 



of character which control the community, supported by public sentiment 
and exemplified in noble and useful lives; it is the kindly influence of home, 
the ready sympathy of neighbors and friends, the unselfish devotion in 
times of trouble, and the willingness to bear one another's burdens, the 
thousand and one ways in which joys and sorrows are shared; all this 
and more goes to the making of a town, and gives it an individuality, 
almost a personality. The importance and worth of a town are not to be 
estimated by its statistics of industries, nor on the basis of its reputed 
wealth, nor by the number of its population. The best product of a town 
is not its crops nor its bales of merchandise, but its men and women, its 
boys and girls ; not only those who have remained at home to till the soil 
and care for loved ones, but also those who have gone forth to other lands, 
carrying the good influences of home to gladden the hearts of other people. 

It is the reputation of its citizens for the sturdy qualities of honesty, 
morality, intelligence and patriotism which gives a town its good name 
and makes it a power in the state; and for the maintenance and cultiva- 
tion of these sterling virtues, we must look, in the first place, to the home, 
that centre of influence for the child, during the character-forming period 
of life; in the second place, to the school which should see to it that with 
the intellectual quickening there creeps in no degeneration, but an ad- 
vancement, in the moral training of youth; in the third place, to the 
church which should so wisely care for the higher spiritual awakening, 
that the development of the moral, the intellectual and the spiritual na- 
tures should blend into one harmonious whole to produce the symmetrical 
character after the pattern of the perfect man. The home, the school, 
the church, the best assets of any town, and these have done more in the 
past 250 years to make Chelmsford what she is today than all other factors 
combined. 

While we are here today to recount our blessings and to rejoice in 
the possession of them, to speak of the past and what has been secured, 
it may be permissible to look forward as well as backward ; it is a blessed 
thought that there is more before us than there is back of us, if we will 
only take the hopeful view of life and see things as they are; to preserve 
and advance a high standard of morals, education and religion which has 
so characterized this town in the past, it is necessary to unite all forces, 
and secure the hearty co-operation of all citizens ; to do this most effective- 
ly, it is necessary to have and to exercise a feeling of self-respect, and 
possess a true estimate of self-importance and individual responsibility, 
and maintain a firm belief that the high character of a small town is of as 
much importance to the well-being of a state as though it were a large town 
or a city. When we fully realize how rapidly our large cities are growing 
by the absorption of the wealth of the land, and by attracting to them- 
selves such hordes of the idle, the ignorant, the vicious, the off-scourings 

38 



of creation, — men of other lands who know Httle or nothing of our insti- 
tutions, and care even less — it becomes the first duty of the people in coun- 
try towns to make of themselves an irresistible power for righteousness 
in the state, to stem the corrupting influences in the large cities. 

One of the greatest problems in social science today is the wise and 
proper management of the unhoused urchins, gamins, tramps and hoboes 
in the slums of the cities; but there is a still greater one, — how to limit 
and counteract the influence of the unhomed and unprincipled speculator 
and cheap millionaire who, by the power of unscrupulously acquired 
accumulations, is undermining the character of so many young men of our 
land. To overcome such influences and keep the town and state pure, 
it is the urgent duty of every citizen to be thoroughly informed in public 
aflfairs, and to have all members of a community work in harmony and 
in hearty co-operation with the powers that make for political purity, 
honesty, and intelligence; to this end, a spirit of mutual encouragenient, 
of helpfulness and hopefulness is absolutely essential; a tendency to de- 
spondency, or the giving way to pessimistic feelings when things seem to 
go amiss, is fatal to progress; losing heart or hope is many times nearly 
equivalent to losing the battle. All great reforms have been led by men 
or women of hopeful and sanguine temperaments. We must beware of 
certain mottoes prevalent in some places, such as, "Expect nothing and 
you will not be disappointed," "Be good and virtuous and you will be 
lonesome." 

May God, the giver of all good, bless you who have come home, and 
you to whom we have come, and bless the good old town of Chelmsford 
evermore." 



THE TOWN OUR FATHERS BUILDED. 

HISTORICAL ADDRESS BY HENRY S. PERHAM. 

At the time our Chelmsford history began, there were within the 
present limits of Massachusetts forty-four towns. These were almost 
wholly in the extreme eastern section of the state. 

From the first line of towns scattered along the coast, settlements 
had, as population increased, gradually extended along the lines of the 
rivers towards the interior. Up to the time of the grant of our township 
in 1653, but one town had been incorporated so far inland as Chelmsford. 
This was a frontier town, as were also Billerica and Groton, which were 
established at the same time. 

39 



The natural expansion of the colony sustained a rude check in King 
Philip's War and the Indian troubles that followed, so that this continued 
to be regarded as a frontier town for fifty years. 

The founders of the town were most of them born in England, and 
emigrated to this country previous to 1640 to escape from religious perse- 
cution. Such people must needs be possessed of strong character and 
deep religious convictions. 

They were God-fearing men and women who sought to build up the 
kingdom of God here in the wilderness. Combined with their religious 
zeal, however, was a practical common sense in worldly affairs. We may , 
therefore, readily believe that their prime motive in pushing out here into 
the wilderness was to better their condition and enable them to provide 
a more comfortable support for their families. 

To plant their homes upon this rugged soil, and attempt to subdue 
the land with their rude implements, with savage beasts lurking in the 
forest and Indians watching their movements with suspicion, was an 
undertaking requiring resolute hearts. 

This tract was first examined with a view to settlement in 1652- 
The following year in May, 29 men living in Concord and Wobum petit- 
ioned the General Court for the grant of a township six miles square 
which, as the petition states, "bordereth upon Merrimack River near to 
Paatucket, which we doe find; a Very Comfortable place to acomidate 
A company of gods people Upon; that may with gods blessinge and Asist- 
ance Liue Comfortably Upon; and doe good in our places for church and 
Comon wealth." 

Only about one half of those whose names appear upon the petition 
came here to settle, but among those who did become permanent settlers, 
you will recognize the names; Adams, Fletcher, Butterfield, Chamberlain 
Proctor, Parker and other names which have been prominent in this vicin- 
ity to the present time. 

Another petition was presented at the same time by Rev. John Eliot 
of Roxbury in behalf of the Pawtucket Indians, or Wamesits, as they 
came to be known. 

These Indians dwelt upon the tract now occupied by the City of Low- 
ell. Their village was at the mouth of the Concord river. At the fishing 
place at the foot of the Pawtucket falls, we are told "great numbers of 
them assembled in the fishing season. With their nets made of wild hemp , 
they drew from the river the salmon and bass, and from their frail canoes 
gliding over the surface of the water at night, they, with flaming torches 
of birch bark waving above them, lured the sturgeon which came 'tumb- 
ling and playing and throwing up their white bellies' to the Indian's 
unerring spear." 

40 



At the wig^vam of Wanalancit, upon the banks of the river, within 
sound of the falHng waters, the Apostle EHot gathered these dusky savages 
about him, and attempted, with some success, to instill into their minds 
the principles of the Christian religion. 

An excellent account of these Indians has been given by Gen. Daniel 
Gookin, who accompanied Mr. Eliot upon one of his annual visits. He 
tells of their habits, the court held there, their Indian teacher, gives an 
account of the conversion of Wanalancit and his unique confession of 
faith, and deplores the Indians' lack of thrift in not improving their oppor- 
tunities to supply the Boston market with fresh salmon at a good price. 

Thanks to the watchful interest of Rev. Mr. Eliot, the General Court 
granted to the Indians a plantation which included practically what is 
now Lowell on this side of the Merrimack river. 

The petitioners from Wobum and Concord were also given a town- 
ship grant upon condition that, unless they "within two yeares setel a 
competent noumber of familjes there, by building and planting vppon 
the sajd tract of land twenty familjes or vpwards, so as they may be in 
capacitje of injoying all the ordinances of God there, then the graunt to 
be vojd." 

A committee was appointed at the same time to lay out both grants. 

The Chelmsford grant as laid out extended from the Concord river 
and Wamesit on the east to Groton on the west. On the south, it was 
bounded bj'^ the Blood farms. Concord and Nashoba, and on the north 
was an unbroken wilderness inhabited only by the red men . 

The first family to come and settle in this tract was, according to tra- 
dition, that of Abraham Parker. The family consisted of himself, his 
wife Rose, and four small children. This tradition was mentioned in 
a letter written 84 years ago by the town clerk, Jonathan Perham, to 
Judge Francis Parker of Boston. 

Soon other families followed and dwellings were built. A town meet- 
ing was held at the house of William Fletcher, 1654, at which men were 
chosen "to officiate in Ordering the Publick affairs of the Place," roads 
were laid out, and all steps taken which were needful in their new 
community. 

The General Court was soon informed that the twenty families, re- 
quired by the terms of their grant, had taken up their abode here, and, 
accordingly, at the Spring session of the court in the week ending May 29, 
1655, two hundred and fifty years ago today, the following act of incorpo- 
ation was passed. 

"Vppon informacon from Major Willard by a letter from Esdras Read, 
Edward Spalden, Wm. Fletcher, etc., inhabitants of a new plantacon, 
that the noumber of inhabitants, according to the time pfixt in the Courts 

41 



graunt, were there settled at theire request, the Court doth grauiit the name 
thereof to be called Chelmsford." Groton and Billerica were incorporated 
at the same time. 

The mother town of Chelmsford in England, for which this was named, 
is situated in the County of Essex, on the river Chelmer, and is 29 miles 
from London. It is a substantial and interesting old town, now contain- 
ing a population of about 13,000. 

One of the first concerns of these pioneers was the establishment of 
a church, and we find them looking about for a minister, even before the 
incorporation of the town, while there were less than twenty families in 
the place. Proposals were made to Rev. John Fiske, who had gathered 
a little church at Wenham, near Salem. The proposition of the Chelms- 
ford people was unique in that they sought to transplant from Wenham 
to Chelmsford both church and pastor. 

An account of the negotiations between the parties is preserved to 
us in the handwriting of Mr. Fiske himself. After the Wenham company 
were satisfied with the proposals made to them, the question was sub- 
mitted to a council to determine whether Mr. Fiske should remain with 
his people in Wenham, or come to Chelmsford and unite with the people 
here to form a new church. Of this council, Mr. Fiske tells us, "the p'ties 
agreed upon were Mr. Endicot, Govrnor, Mr. Mather, Mr. Allen of Dedham, 
Mr. Cobbet, Mr. Sherman, Capt. Johnson of Woobuerne, who determined 
the case for Chelmsford." This action is significant as showing the prayer- 
ful deliberation of these people in acting upon any matter relating to the 
welfare of the church. 

This council contained some of the most eminent men in the colony, 
At its head was that sturdy Puritan, Gov. John Endicott; the second 
was Rev. Richard Mather of Dorchester, the father of Increase, and grand- 
father of Cotton Mather; the third was Rev. John Cobbet of Lynn; the 
fourth. Rev. John Sherman of Watertown; the next was Rev. John Allin 
of Dedham, who had come to this country in the same ship with Mr. Fiske; 
and the last was Capt. Edward Johnson of Wobum, the author of that 
rare work, "The Wonder Working Providence of Zion's Savior in New 
England." He was one of the committee appointed by the General 
Court to lay out the Chelmsford grant. 

The account of the organization of the church is best given in the 
language of Mr. Fiske himself, as it appears in his handwriting. 

"Accordingly, about the 13th of 9mo, '55, there were met at Chelms- 
ford, the pastor with the engaged Brethren of Wenham church, viz: 
Ezdras Read, Edw. Kemp, Austin Killam, Sa: Foster, Geo: Byam & Rich . 
Goldsmith, seuen in all, To whom such of the Brethren of Wooburne & 
Concord ch: who had before ppounded themselves to joyne with the ch : 

42 



late at Wenham. Now in Removeing to Chelmsford & prsentcd them- 
selues, with there Lrs of Dismission : upon satisfaction & Testimony giuen 
were by an vnanimous vote Received into fellowship. They being the 
greater numb, in way of mutual complyance, a Relation passd on either 
side, as each one voluntarily would:" 

membs sig'd 

Viz: Isaack Lernctt (he dyed 8. of 10. 57) 1 

Simon Thompson (he dyed about 3 qrs. of a y. after at Ooburne2 

Wm. Vnderwood 3 

Abram Parker 4 

Benja Butterfield 6 

Tho : Chamberlain 6 

Next received Dan. Blogged who brought lrs of dismission from the 

ch: at Cambridge. 7 

So after this the scales of the supp administred & there were admitted 

by vote these Members of other churches, to coion with us in these scales. 

Mr. Griffin, Wm. fletcher & his wife, Tho; Adams & his wife, Br- 

Vndrvvoods wife, (Edw. Spalding), Bro: Butterfeilds wife, Bro: Chamber. 

lins wife, Edm: Chamberlins wife, Abram Parkers wife, Jos. Parkers wife, 

Isa: Lemets wife, Sim: Thompsons wife. 

Since Rec'd into fellowship was Jacob Parker, 8. 

It would be interesting to know how many of those in this hall today 
are descendants of any of the members of that little group of 29 persons 
who partook of that first commimion in Chelmsford. I think the number 
would be found to be larger than would be at first supposed. I am able 
to claim eight of them as my ancestors, and I have no doubt that there 
are others here who had as many, and some perhaps more. 

The Wenham company was a valuable acquisition to Chelmsford 

Mr. Fiske was bom in England about 1601 — nearly twenty years 
before the landing of the Pilgrims. He was a graduate of Emanuel College. 
He came to this country in 1637, bringing a letter of commendation to 
Gov. Winthrop. 

Cotton Mather gives a very interesting biographical account of Mr. 
Fiske in his "Magnalia." The following paragraph is sufficient to show 
the high esteem in which he was held by his contemporaries. He says: 
"And among the first preachers and writers, which rendered the primitive 
times of New England happy, there was one who might likewise be 
called a beloved physician: one to whom there might also be given the 
eulogy which the ancients think was given to Luke, a brother whose praise 
was in the gospel throughout all [the] churches. This was Mr. John Fisk." 

He prepared a catechism which was published in 1657. They were 
sold to his parishioners at 6 pence each, but a copy today is worth $100. 

43 



To quote again from Mather: "Twenty years did he shine in the golden 
candlestick of Chelmsford; a plain, but an able, painful and useful preach- 
er of the gospel." I must leave this interesting man with the mention of 
the valuable relic which the church possesses in the shape of a communion 
cup with his initials upon the base, and the stamp of the maker, John Dix- 
well, upon the side. Dixwell was a goldsmith of Boston and a son of the 
regicide judge of that name. 

The meeting house was built in 1659 or 1660, upon or near the site of 
the present Unitarian church. We have no description of the building, but 
as it cost the town ;£264 and served its purpose for more than fifty years, 
it must have been a substantial structure. The meeting house was the 
social centre; around this rude altar clustered the best interests of the 
community. Probably it was not furnished with pews, but like most of 
the meeting houses of that day, the people were seated upon ntde benches. 

"Seating the meeting house" was a custom significant of social dis- 
tinctions which, at that time, were sharply drawn. A committee chosen 
by the town and composed of some of its most dignified men assigned to 
each person the seat which he, or she, was to occupy each Sabbath. The 
custom which prevailed at the time was to seat the people according to 
age, rank and estate. 

When the second meeting house was built in 1712 to supersede the 
first one, the town voted as instructions to their seating committee, "that 
the Eldest persons shall be seted in the foremost seats and Like Wise that 
thare be a modrate Regard to estats in seating the meeting house." 

Soon pews began to be introduced, a few favored persons being 
allowed to build them at their own expense for themselves and families. 
But such a privilege could only be obtained by vote in town meeting. 

In 1712, "It was uoted that Colonall tyng, Capt. Bowrs, Capt. Barron , 
and Jonathan Richardson shall have the Liberty and Benefit of making 
Pues in that uacant Roome, one the East side of the Pulpit in the New 
Meeting hous to the East Window." Of this favored few, the first. Col. 
Jonathan Tyng, was of that wealthy and aristocratic family for which 
the town of Tj^ngsboro was named. The second, Capt. Jerathmel Bowers, 
lived upon what is now Wood Street in Lowell, and, if tradition tells true, 
in the identical house now occupied by one of his descendants, Joseph 
Bowers. The third pew owner, Capt. Moses Barron, was chairman of the 
selectmen and town clerk, and the last, Jonathan Richardson, was the 
proprietor of a mill at the mouth of Stony Brook, where is now the thriving 
village of North Chelmsford. 

The Puritan congregations must have suffered extreme discomfort 
in the cold of Winter, to have sat through two long sermons in their un- 
warmed churches. Parson Bridge mentions in his diary one case when 
the cold was so severe that he was unable to complete his sermon. He 

44 



says, "7 January, 1787 — Lord's day & Com'n day, I preach'd f'm Matt. 
27-47, 2d Serm to y. Improvmt & was obliged To leave yt, it being ex- 
ceeding cold — Adininstred Sac't Supper, but p^irpose nevr more to attempt 
it, if I am continued, when so Cold. At this time, he was 73 years of age 
and had preached in Chelmsford 46 years. When younger, he doubtless 
bore such ordeals unflinchingly. 

The diary of Judge Sewall of Boston mentions one bitter cold Sunday. 
"The communion bread was frozen pretty hard, and rattled sadlj'^ into 
the plates." 

If they shivered from the cold themselves, they were humane to their 
horses waiting otitside. As early as 1719 the town voted, "that Stephen 
Peirce scnor, and Several of the inhabitants of the Neck shall haue Liberty 
to buld a Stable Nere the meeting house," and others were, from time to 
time, given similar privileges. It was sometime later before we find that 
their own comfort was provided for by noon-houses in which to spend the 
intermission between the morning and afternoon service, and partake of 
their lunch before a glowing fire. 

The town made liberal grants of land in 1656 to Samuel Adams to 
encourage the establishment of a sawmill and commill. These were 
situated upon Great brook at what is now known as Russell's mills. 

Before the land was enclosed by fences, the people entered into com- 
mtmal arrangements for the care of their cattle by herding them upon the 
common or unappropriated lands, in charge of keepers. They also fenced 
and shared fields in common. In one case, 900 acres were enclosed and 
shared by fifty proprietors. This field, then used as pasturage for cattle 
and sheep, embraced within its limits what is now the heart of the city of 
Lowell. Other saw and commills were set up from time to time upon the 
various streams; also fulling mills and iron works. 

An interesting incident occurred about two hundred years ago, in 
connection with the mill at the mouth of Stony brook at the present village 
of North Chelmsford. 

Daniel Waldo, a son of Dea. Cornelius W^aldo, established a corn or 
gristmill and sawmill here in 1695. These he sold in 1700 to John Rich- 
ardson, who with Jonathan Richardson was granted in 1707 liberty of 
erecting iron works "with Conveiniency of flowing, provided it Damnific 
none of the Inhabitants." 

Wishing, in time of low water, to use more than the stream afforded 
Mr. Richardson asked of the town, two years later, and was granted the 
"Liberty of Drawing of the pond Called New-fied-pond to suply his mill 
with Water : And shall have the benifit of sd pond to the high-water mark." 
This was the pond since called Leach's pond, and more recently christ- 
ened Crystal Lake. 

45 



The attempt of Mr. Richardson to avail himself of the benefit of the 
waters of this pond caused a most remarkable catastrophe. As the 
workmen were digging a channel through the bank of the pond, the pres- 
sure of the water suddenly bvirst through the weakened bank, and the 
water rushed forth, carrying with it a negro, who happened to be working 
in the ditch at the time, and burying him in a mound of sand carried by 
the water to the meadow below. 

Thus, this pond, covering over 70 acres, was all drawn off, with the 
exception of about an acre in the lowest part. The bed of this old pond 
remained dry for more than a hundred years, a thrifty growth of timber 
meanwhile growing up from it. My father has told me of going, when a 
child, with his father to haul timber from the bed of this old pond. I 
have recently been told that the hotel "Adams House," burned several 
years ago, was built in 1820 from timber which grew in the bed of that 
pond. In 1824, Gen. Leach had the breach in the bank repaired, and the 
pond was again filled with water, as it has since remained. 

In 1671 we find the first intimations that danger was feared from 
the Indians. Evidently some symptoms were discovered of that storm 
which, four years later, broke with such fury upon the colony in King 
Philip's War. 

As a precautionary measure, the men were ordered to bring clubs 
with them to the ineeting house. This curious record reads: "25the 5th mo 
1671, It is ordered by the Selectt men For severall Considerations, espet- 
ialy For the preseruation of peace. That with in one moneth After the Date 
hear of euery malle person with in our towne Above the Age of Fiue- 
ten years shall prouid a good Clube of Fouer or Fiue Foot in lingth with 
a knobe in the end, and to bringe the same to the metting house ther to 
leaue the same vntill ocation fore use of it [be] 

sicmed the Name of the Rest by 
Sam Adames, Gierke. 

Two years later, the town built a house upon Robins hill, the purpose 
of which is not clear. It was neither sufficiently large nor substantial 
for a garrison house, being of one room, 16x18, covered with but a single 
thickness of boards, and with but one window. The fact that Indian 
troubles were brewing, and that the committee appointed to select its 
location, Lieut. Samuel Foster and Ensign William Fletcher, were both 
officers in the "foot company," would indicate that it was intended to 
serve some military purpose. The place was admirably adapted for a 
lookout, from which to discover and warn people of approaching danger. 

Several years before, the friendly Wamesits had built a stockade upon 
Fort hill, now Rogers' Park, in Lowell, to protect themselves from their 
dreaded foes, the Mohawks. There was a tradition, related to me many 
years ago by an old man, that these Indians signaled across from Fort 
hill to high points in Chelmsford. 

46 



The following is the wording of the contract for the house upon 
Robins hill: — 

7 of octtobor, 1673, Att a gcncrall metting Acording to the towne 
order thes Foloing: — 

Articls of agreement made the seventh Day of octobor on thousand 
sixe hundreth seventy and three, bettwine the inhabitants of Chelmsford 
and Joseph barrett of the same place. 

1. The said Joseph barrett Doth promis and Ingage to build a house 
of eighten Foott longe and sixteen foott wid and eight foott stud, and 
to Do all the worke belonging to the same From the stump to the 
finishing of the same and to Find bords For the hole house and lay the 
Flowers and Dobell bord the Roofe and bord the sids and ends and to 
make the Chemly and Dore and window and to Find stones and Clay 
and to Finish the said house att or beefore the last Day of march Next 
insewing the Date above. 

2. The inhabitants of Chelmsford Do promise and hcarby ingage 
to pay vnto the Forsaid barett in full satiffacttion for the house Aforesaid 
the Just sum of twelve pounds in towne pay that is such as the towne Can 
produce and to pay the same twelve powds att or beefore the tenth Day 
of octtobor in the yeare on thousand sixe hundreth seventy and Foure as 
wittnes in the behalfe of the towne the Date above allso it was agreed vpon 
that the towne shold Find Naills for the whole house. 

Sam Adames, Clerke. 

Upon the same date, "It was voated that all male persons From the 
Age of Twelve years to sixtey shall every one worke one Day in the yeare 
For the Clearing of Robins hill." The selectmen to "Apoint a man to lead 
on the worke either ther or else whear." First book P. 116. 

Joseph Barrett had a double motive for doing faithful \vork when he 
built the house for the town; for, when completed, it was promptly occu- 
pied by Francis Gould, whose daughter, Martha, the builder had married 
the year before. 

Goold, or Gould, signed an agreement with the selectmen, stating 
that, "I have taken to hier the house and land that I now live in of the 
selecttmen of the towne For which house and land I Do couenatt with 
thm to pay yearly the sum of one peck of endian Com For the towns use 
as wittnes my hand this last tuseday in Desembor 1673." 

Francis Goold, 
his mark. 

Gould and his wife, Rose, had a family of five small children, and 
others older, to occupy this one room cottage, which had but a single 
thickness of boarding to protect its inmates from the blasts of winter. 

47 



Francis and Rose Gould have many descendants living today, one of whom, 
Hon. Samuel L. Powers, you will have the privilege of hearing tomorrow 
in this hall. 

The fact that only a nominal rent was required, sxifficient only to 
acknowledge the town's ownership in the property, plainly implies that 
the occupant was to render to the town some service as an equivalent for 
the use of the property, or else that the family were in circumstances 
requiring aid from the town. The most reasonable supposition is that 
he was to maintain a lookout and warn the inhabitants in case of any 
discovered peril. 

Gould remained in the house until his death, March 27, 1676. In 
October following, his daughter, Hannah, married Daniel Galusha, a 
Dutchman, who paid the town the peck of com due for rent, and leased 
the house and seven acres of land for the term of seven years, for which 
he was to pay, as an acknowledgment of his grant from the town, "say 
one peck and halfe of Come yerly." The one condition stated in the con- 
tract was, "that he distorbe not his mother Gools peaceabl living in the 
house." First book, P. 131. 

Galusha remained in the house three years, when, his mother-in-law 
Gould having died, his request to leave the house was granted. Later 
he removed to Dunstable, where the family had a sad experience. At the 
assault upon that town by the Indians, on the night of July 3d, 1706, 
his house, upon Salmon river, was attacked and burned. Galusha escaped 
and one of the women of the household fled from the flames and saved 
herself from the savages by hiding in the underbrush, but his daughter. 
Rachel,* was killed. She was a young lady bom in this town 22 years 
before. 

In King Philip's war, Chelmsford suffered less than most of the fron- 
tier towns. The people were, nevertheless, constantly harassed by fear 
lest the cruel fate of Groton and other exposed towns might overtake them . 
When the family retired for the night, they knew not at what hour they 
might be awakened from their slumbers by the war whoop of the savages 
to find their home in flames and their children slaughtered. 

Wamesit was one of the Apostle Eliot's praying towns, and these 
Indians did not join in hostiUtics against the English. But the atrocities 
perpetrated by the savages in other places, and the fact that some of Eliot's 
Christian Indians had been discovered among the hostile bands, engen- 
dered feelings of bitter hatred toward the Indians. 

Many people were seized with the wild desire to exterminate all 
Indians indiscriminately. 

Some of the Chelmsford men who knew the Wamesits best, remained 
their stanch friends. 

*Bom at Chelmsford, Sept. 14, 1683. 

48 



A barn belonging to James Richardson was burned and also some 
haystacks, and the Wamesits were "vehemently suspected" of being 
guilty of these acts. Passions aroused by this led to the wanton shooting 
of several of the Indians. In reference to this outrage, Increase Mather 
of Boston, wrote in his diary: "It is to be feared yt yir [that there] is guilt 
vpon ye Land in resp. of ye Indians yea Guilt of blood in resp. of yc Indian 
so treacherously murdered at Chelmsford. I am affraid God will viset 
for yt gf [that grief]." Several houses on the north side of the river, 
belonging to the Cobums, were burned, probably in retaliation by the 
Wamesits, and two sons of Samuel Varnum were shot and killed while 
crossing the river with their father in a boat to tend their cattle on the 
other side. 

The ruler of the Wamesits, Numphow, now retired with his people 
into the wilderness to the north. Their troubles, however, were not ended. 
Capt. Mosely and his band, while scouting towards Pennacook, came upon 
their wigwams which had been left upon his approach, and these, with the 
provisions contained in thein, were burned. Their further sad fortunes 
we cannot now follow. They never returned in any considerable numbers 
to their ancient home at Wamesit. 

In 1685 the town chose a committee to treat with the Indians for the 
purchase of Wamesit Neck. The purchase was made from the Indians 
by Col. Jonathan Tyng of Dunstable and Maj. Thomas Hinchman of 
Chelmsford. By them, it was conveyed by deed to 50 proprietors living 
in Chelmsford. The tract included practically what is now occupied by 
the city of Lowell on the south side of the Merrimack, and 500 acres on 
the north side. It cost these fifty proprietors about twenty dollars each, 
This instrument is dated Dec. 15, 1686, "in the second j'^ear of the reign 
of our sovereign lord King James the second." 

Benj. Parker, the son of one of the original proprietors, purchased 
enough of these lots to make, with the one he inherited, a farm, and settled 
upon what is now Pine street. The place is still occupied by his descend- 
ants of the fifth generation. It is the only set of buildings that I know 
of in the city that look as though they were laid out when land was bought 
by the acre instead of by the foot. 

The records of the Wamesit Proprietors in a large mantxscript volume, 
and covering a period of 100 years, are in the Chelmsford archives. 

The people who settled upon the north side of the Merrimack river, 
sustained a peculiar relationship with Chelmsford. The grant of this 
town did not extend beyond the river at any time ; nevertheless the people 
living there were regarded as citizens of the town. They voted, paid 
taxes, and attended meeting in Chelmsford, and looked to the town for 
protection. And when some of those people attempted to escape from 
their share of the burdens of taxation, on the ground that their farms were 

49 



not in Chelmsford nor in the County of Middlesex, the General Court con- 
firmed the relationship previously existing, and ordered that they "haue 
their dependancs vpon, & performe services, & beare chardges wth the 
sajd toune of Chelmsford" — "any lawe or custome to the contrary not- 
wthstanding, 1667, Oct. 9." 

The first man who had crossed the river and settled was John Webb, 
alias Evered, who was an interesting character. He had been a merchant 
in Boston, and owned the historic spot now known as the "old corner book- 
store, "on the comer of School and Washington Streets, which had been 
the home of the brilliant, but ill fated, Anne Hutchinson. 

After coming here, he built his house on the north bank of the Merri- 
mack, below what is known as the Durkee place. Chelmsford granted 
him land, laid out a highway for his accommodation, and bestowed offices 
upon him. He was chosen deputy to the General Court in 1663, 1664 
and 1665, but, alas, for human frailty! during the latter session, he was 
convicted of unchaste conduct at the tavern of John Vialls where he was 
stopping. And this is the way that they dealt with such a lapse in moral 
conduct in those days. He was expelled from the General Court, fined 
;^20, deprived of his offices, civil and military, and disfranchised. The 
next year, Webb, having paid his fine, "& carried it humbly & submis- 
sively, & under a due sence of his sinne," the balance of his sentence 
was remitted. In 1664 he sold "one halfe of the farme of Drawcutt" to 
Richard Shatswell and Samuel Varnum, and as this is the first appear- 
ance of the name Dracut, it seems that John Webb is fairly entitled to 
the honor of having furnished a name for the town. Mr. Webb came to 
his death in a singular manner. Bradstreet's Journal gives the following 
account of it. 

"1668, Octob., Mr. Jno. Webbe, who sometime liued at Boston, was 
drowned catching a whale below the castle. In coiling vp ye line vnad- 
visedly he did it about his middle, thinking the whale had been dead, but 
suddenly shee gave a Spring and drew him out of the boat, he being in 
ye midst of the line, but could not bee recouered while he had any life." 

It is a pity to find this graphic account modified by the statement in 
parenthesis "(Mr. Webb's death, as after I was better informed, was not 
altogether so as related.)" 

The town's relationship with the people on the north side of the river 
terminated with the incorporation of Dracut in 1701. Chelmsford took 
no formal action, however, till 1706, when it was "Voted That Draw Cutt 
shall not voat in Chelmsford." 

As the western section of the town became occupied, the people living 
there felt the inconvenience of being so far from the meeting house and 
other advantages. At their request, the West Precinct was formed, and 
in 1729, the town of Westford was incorporated. 

50 



This new town ambitiously established their centre upon their highest 
hill. From this beginning has gradually grown up about their churches 
and academy one of the most beautiful villages of the state; while, cluster- 
ing about the manufacturing industries upon Stony brook, are the thriving 
villages of Brookside, Forge Village and Granitcvillc. 

Carlisle appropriated to herself a liberal section of the south part of 
our town when she joined the sisterhood of towns 100 years ago. 

As we come down to the time of the Revolution, we must pass over 
the causes which led up to it, the spirited but temperate resolutions passed 
in town meeting, the people's instructions to their representative to the 
General Court, and other interesting matters showing the feeling of the 
people and their intense earnestness. 

When, upon the morning of the eventful 19th of April, 1775, a messen- 
ger rode into town with the news that the British troops were marching 
from Boston towards Concord, the people were prepared for the crisis. 
The minute guns were fired from a rock which stood on the upper side of 
what is now Central Square. Soon the minute men were making their 
way towards the rendezvotis, from the farms in all quarters of the town. 
The summons found Capt. John Ford at work in his mill at Pawtucket 
falls. He hastened to the house, stepped into the big kitchen and partook 
of a bowl of bread and milk, then mounted his horse and rode away. Ben- 
jamin Pierce, the father of President Franklin Pierce, was plowing in a 
field, against what is now Powell Street in Lowell, near B street, there he 
heard the call, "his plow was in mid furrow stayed," and he chained his 
steers to a nearby tree (which, in after years he pointed out) and started 
at once to join his comrades. 

My ancestor, Saml. Perham, was at work in our lower field, when the 
summons reached him, and he, like the others, dropped his tools and 
hurried to the rendezvous. When the men had gathered in the village 
square, the good parson. Rev. Ebenezer Bridge, invited them into the 
meeting house for prayers, but Sergeant Ford politely objected, on the 
plea of more urgent business; and well did this gallant officer justify his 
haste, for five British soldiers fell before his rifle that day. The spirit 
which animated the men is well illustrated by the case which is told of 
one young man who was not enrolled, but, begging permission to go in 
place of his more elderly employer, ran beside Sergeant Ford's horse to 
Concord, holding by the stirrup strap. 

The Chelmsford men were enrolled in two companies, one numbering 
61 men, under command of Capt. Oliver Barron, the tavern keeper, and 
the other of 43 pien under Capt. Moses Parker, who lived abotit a mile east 
of the village, near the old turnpike at what is now the Widow DriscoU 
place. 

51 



When our men reached Concord, the retreat of the British had already 
begun. The account of WilHam Fletcher of Parker's company states: "We 
followed the enemy and came up with them somewhere in Lexington." 
He very modestly says, "Our company behaved as well as could be ex- 
pected, all things considered." "I was four times that day," he says, 
"where the arrows of death flew thick. We followed the enemy more than 
half way over Charlestown Neck. The enemy was then in plain view 
rising Bunker's hill." Mr. Fletcher lived in the old gambrel roof house 
by North Square. 

Capt. Barron and Deacon Aaron Chamberlain were wounded in the 
engagement. The state of feeling here in Chelmsford during those event- 
ful days is best learned from an account written at the time by Rev. Eben- 
ezer Bridge in his diary. He says: "April 19, 1775. The civil war begun 
at Concord this morning! God direct all things for his glory, the good of 
his church and people, and for the preservation of the British colonies 
and to the shame and confusion of our oppressors." 

The following day, he w^rote: "April 20. In a terrible state, by reason 
of ye news from our army. The onset of ye British forces was begun at 
Lexington, & was carried on to Concord, where some were killed on both 
sides. They, i. e. ye regulars, retreated soon and were followed by our 
men down to Cambridge, before night. Heard of ye welfare of my sons 
in ye army & of my people there. Five captives were carried through this 
town for Amherst. A constant marching of soldiers from ye towns above 
toward ye army as there were yesterday from this town and the neigh- 
boring towns. We are now involved in a war which God only knows what 
will be the issue of, but I will hope in his mercy, and wait to see His salva- 
tion." 

"21. Much in y' same posture as yesterday — Forces still going to y' 
army — I sent provisions to y' army^ — So did many more — " 

"22. The same as yesterday in genl — mj^ son Billy came home fm 
y' army in y' Even'g." 

"23. Lord's day — 1 preached — but a small assembly — O 'Tis a Very 
distrsesing day — Soldiers passing all day & all night — " 

At the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Chelmsford company under Capt. 
Ford distinguished itself, eleven of its members being wounded. Among 
the gallant officers who fell in the battle were Lieut. Col. Moses Parker 
and Capt. Benj. Walker, of this town, both of whom were mortally wounded 
and died while in the hands of the British. During the long and trying 
struggle which followed, the town bore its full share of the burden, both 
in men and supplies. 

The business depression which followed the Revolution , caused by the 
great burden of debt and an unstable currency, was succeeded by a period 
of prosperity. Some of the finest colonial residences were erected during 
this period. 

52 



The social and intellectual life of the town seemed to have received 
an impetus at the same time. The Chelmsford Social Library was estab- 
lished in 1794, Jan. 6, and continued for a hundred years until succeeded 
by the Free Public Library, since named the Adams Library, in honor of 
a native of the town, Mr. Amos F. Adams of Newton, the generous donor 
of the fine Library building in which it is contained. When the social 
library was founded, there were but nine public libraries in the state out- 
side of Boston. 

A society was organized in 1794 for the "promotion of useful improve- 
ments in agriculture." This movement was significant of the progressive 
spirit of the people, for there were at that time, so far as is known, but 
three other agricultural societies in the entire country. It was incorpo- 
rated Feb. 28, 1803, under the name of "The Western Society of Middle- 
sex Husbandmen," and at that date there was but one other incorporated 
agricultural society within the present limits of Massachusetts. 

Rev. Wilkes Allen prepared a history of Chelmsford, which was pub- 
lished at the expense of the town in 1820, the first book of town history 
issued in America. Five years later, the Chelmsford Classical School 
was established with Ralph Waldo Emerson as Preceptor. 

These different movements manifest an enlightened state of society 
and a people proud of its history and ambitious for its highest welfare. 

Any individual mention of the noble men who have from time to time 
been prominently identified with the town in its business, educational 
and professional interests, as well as of those who have gone forth to bril- 
liant careers elsewhere, I am reluctantly forced to omit. 

I regret also my inability to do justice in this paper to the manu- 
facturing industries of the town, although realizing fully their importance 
in its development. The scythe factory upon the Stony brook, built in 
1823, started the present village of West Chelmsford. 

The thriving industrial village of North Chelmsford has grown up 
about the manufacturing establishments at that place. These have been 
conducted by men of skill, invention and business enterprise. 

We are indebted to Mr. Geo. C. Moore for some very substantial and 
thoroughly built mills. If any buildings now standing will be found here 
250 years hence, I think they must be the Moore Mills. 

The great and epoch-making enterprise was the harnessing of the 
mighty waters of the Merrimack to the wheels of human industry. From 
the cotton factories then started in East Chelmsford sprang the town of 
Lowell in 1826 and a city ten years later — the first large manufacturing city 
in the country. The mother town has watched with pride the growth 
of this ambitious daughter from the time when the first yard of calico 
was printed by the Merrimack Mill, Nov. 23, 1824, to the present city, 
supporting a population of nearly 100,000 people. 

53 



The period of the Civil War is still fresh in the minds of many. To 
the call to arms, our young men responded nobly, some never to return 
to the homes they had left. The town kept its full quota of troops in 
the field throughout the bitter conflict. 

In this imperfect review, I have been able to touch only here and 
there upon matters connected with the town's history. Of the town, 
as it is today, I need not speak. It is before you, polished up for your 
inspection. With our 250 miles of highway, any part of it can be reached 
without the necessity of cutting "across lots." 

You will see no magnificent residences occupied by people of great 
wealth; neither will you find any of the abodes of poverty and sloth. 
Comfortable homes will everywhere greet your eye, such as would be 
expected in a typical New England town. Our population, by the last 
census, 1900, was 3,984. The enumeration now being taken will find a 
material increase from that number.* The town generously supports 
its schools and other institutions. We have an average school attendance 
of 690 pupils. Eight churches administer so well to the religious and 
moral needs of the community that we require neither jail nor police. 

Of the future, who so bold as to attempt to forecast it? Let us have 
faith that the different elements entering into our population may be 
imbued with a civic pride sufficient to insure an efficient management of 
affairs, so that at the end of another 250 years, those living at that 
time to celebrate the event may look back over the space intervening 
between them and us, with the same pride and satisfaction with which 
we today contemplate the ages back to the time when the pioneers 
first broke ground in our beloved Chelmsford. 
*4,251 



The bells were rung at sunset and at 8 o'clock the concerts 
were given as announced on the programme. The reception at 
8.15 p. m., was the occasion of bringing together many old resi- 
dents, and handshaking, with pleasant conversation and renew- 
ing old acquaintances, was the order of the evening. This was 
one of the most enjoyable features of the celebration. The 
Adams orchestra furnished the music. 

54 



Celebration at North Chelmsford. 

The celebration at the North Village on Monday evening 
was arranged with much enthusiasm and was a pronounced suc- 
cess. Over two thousand people witnessed the illuminations 
and the parade, while bands played and cannon boomed. A 
band concert was given in the afternoon in Donohue's field by 
the Truant School Band, under the direction of James P. Larkin. 
Many houses were decorated with flags and bunting and electric 
lights. The whole affair was creditable to the enterprise and 
loyalty of the people of the village. The parade was the prin- 
cipal feature of the evening, and moved from Princeton Street 
to Groton Road, Newfield Street to Gay, Princeton and Centre, 
and countermarched to Princeton, Branch, Church, Main and 
Princeton to the Town Hall. 

The formation of the parade was as follows : 

Chief Marshal, Lieut. William L. Quigley; Chief of staff, Sergt. 
Charles F. Scribner; Bugler, David P. McNally. 

Aids, Mounted — Capt. E. H. Keyes, Preston L. Piggott, John Shaw, 
George C. Moore, Jr., Samuel P. Seymour, Joseph Carpentier, Henry Leake, 
Henry E. Howard, Robert W. PoUey, John E. Harrington, Carl Ripley, 
Augustus E. Duncan, Michael Kinch, John C. Varney, Frank A. Mallory, 
Dr. F. E. Varney, James Daley, John Daley, Henry Blood, Fred Vinal, 
James Wotton and George Seymour. 

North Chelmsford Brass Band, Hubert Bearce, Leader. 

Troop F. Cavalry, dismounted — Sergt. William E. Quigley command- 
ing. Barouche, with Rev. Fr. E. T. Schofield, Rev. D. A. Hudson and 
A. H. Sheldon; Barouche with Mrs. Margaret McCabe, Mrs. Owen 
McGrath, E. D. Bearce and Goerge Hj^de, all four old residents. 

St. John's Total Abstinence Society, Stephen T. Ward, Marshal. 

Aids: George X. Pope, James McEnaney, Edmund Costello, John J. 
Townsend; Barge, with St. John's Ladies' Temperance xA.uxiliary. 

Butler Vets Band. 

Court Wannalancit, 171, M. C. O. F., John Corrigan, Marshal. 

Aids: Henry Miner, George F. O'Neil, John Sherlock; Barouche, 
with Rev. John H. McNamara, Col. R. S. Ripley, Stewart Mackay and 
Edward J. Robbins. 

Spanish War Veterans Drum Corps. 

Moore Spinning Cricket Club, Fred T. Duncan, Marshal. 

Aids: Joseph D. Cryan and Mark Ingham. 

55 



In the Town Hall, there was great enthusiasm. The inte- 
rior was decorated with flags. The band and chorus were placed 
in the front of the hall. Those seated on the stage were Select- 
man James P. Dunigan, Mr. Arthur H. Sheldon, Rev. Edmund 
T. Schofield, Rev. John McNamara, Rev. D. A. Hudson, Chief 
Marshal William J. Quigley, Town Clerk Edward J. Robbins, 
Selectman John J. Dunn, Selectman Walter Perham, Col. Royal 
S. Ripley, Stewart Mackay. 

Selectman James P. Dunigan called the meeting to order 
after the band had played. In a brief and appropriate speech, 
he introduced Arthur H. Sheldon as presiding officer. 

Mr. Sheldon said it seemed to him that their celebration 
was excelling that at the Centre. The first speaker was Rev. 
Fr. Schofield, who made an impassioned speech on "Liberty." 
The chorus sang "To Thee, O Country." Rev. D. A. Hudson 
was introduced and spoke in a spirit of patriotism and loyalty 
to the town. After further singing, appropriate and efifective 
remarks were made by Stewart Mackay and Col. Royal S. Ripley, 
the former speaking of the schools, and the latter praising the 
excellence of the celebration. The meeting closed with the sing- 
ing of "America." 



56 



CD 
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z 

o 

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o 
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H 

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o 
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TUESDAY. 

Memorial Day came with a continuance of balmy sunshine, 
and was full of solemn purport, yet its festal programme for the 
children's entertainment gave Tuesday a place in the town's 
celebration. It was estimated that three thousand people took 
part in the day's activities. 

MEMORIAL DAY EXERCISES. 

Town Hall, Chelmsford. 

Tuesday Morning, May 30, 1905, 

In Connection with the 250th Anniversary of the Town. 

1. Music Chelmsford Band 

2. Prayer Rev. C. M. Merrill 

3. Singing — America, Beloved Land . . School Children 

4. Reading — The Old Sergeant . . . .Maj. Samuel L. Button 

5. Singing — E'er Fadeless be their Glory . School Children 

6. Roll Call 

7. Music — The Vacant Chair .... Brass Quartette 

8. Memorial Address Hon. Samtiel L. Powers of Newton 

9. Music — Hearts and Flowers Band 

10. Singing — America Audience 

At nine o'clock, about 700 school children assembled at the 
school near the Town Hall and formed for marching. Seven 
special electric cars brought them from the north and east por- 
tions of the town. From the south and west they came also 
in good season. Then followed the Chelmsford Veterans, with 
James P. Emerson as Chief Marshal, and, headed by the Chelms- 
ford Band, the procession moved through Central Square, and 
returned to the Littleton Street entrance of Forefathers' Bury- 
ing Ground, where they decorated the graves of their comrades 
who served with them in the war for the Union. The graves 
of the heroes of the Revolution, numbering forty, were also 
decorated with flowers. The scene was one of unusual interest 
and significance. 

57 



The Ritual of the Grand Army of the RepubHc was read by 
Commander Hutchinson, assisted by Comrades of the Associa- 
tion. 

At the close of the exercises in the Burying Ground, the 
procession re-formed and moved to the Common, where a hollow 
square was formed about the Monument to the Soldiers of the 
Revolution which was saluted, while the band played a dirge; 
after which the children were marched to the pavilion for their 
entertainment, and the remainder of the procession, with the 
band, went into the Town Hall, where, on the stage were seated 
the chief marshal, the commander of the veterans, the orator, 
the reader, the selectmen and the ministers of the town. The 
Chelmsford Band played appropriate music, and the singing by 
a chorus of selected children's voices from the schools was most 
creditable, and was under the direction of Miss Mary B. Raynes, 
Instructor of Music in the schools of Chelmsford. A telling 
feature of the programme was the reading by Major Button, who, 
with rich voice and deep feeling, made the story very real, pre- 
facing it with some eloquent words of his own. 

The address was made by Hon. Samuel L. Powers of Newton. 
He spoke as follows: 

MR. POWERS' ADDRESS. 

I regard myself very fortunate to be permitted to join you today in 
paying tribute to the service and heroic sacrifice of the American soldier. 

Thus far the human race has not faltered in its devotion to the soldier. 
Each year travelers by the thousands continue to make pilgrimages to the 
battlefield of Marathon to do reverence to the Greek soldier who fell in 
battle more than two thousand years ago. Of the myriads of English wor- 
thies there are no names quite so dear to the Briton's heart as those of 
Marlborough, Nelson and Wellington. The French people refused to be 
consoled until the body of their greatest military genius and hero was 
removed from St. Helena and given a permanent resting place in the 
capital of the French nation. The American people will never cease to 
visit and revisit the tomb at Mount Vernon and that upon the banks of 
the Hudson, nor will they ever falter in their worship of the memory of 
the great leader of the armies of the American Revolution, and that great 
military genius of the Civil War. 

58 



I have recently noticed that certain foreign critics, possibly viewing 
with some jealousy the marvelous march of the American people in indus- 
trial progress, have taken occasion to characterize us as materialistic and 
lacking in those feelings of sentiment which they claim are common to the 
people of the older nations of Europe. To my mind nothing could be 
farther from the truth. There are no people more deeply imbued with 
patriotic sentiment than our own. Every epoch and crisis in our national 
history has become indelibly impressed upon the American mind. We 
make our pilgrimage to Plymouth that we may stand upon the shore and 
view the rock which nearly three centuries ago was pressed by Pilgrims' 
feet, seeking these shores in pursuit of religious and civil liberty. We visit 
Faneuil hall that we may stand within the walls which once echoed to the 
voices of Otis and Sam Adams, in protest against the encroachments of the 
Crown, and in behalf of political liberty for the colonists. We love to 
stand upon Lexington green and at Concord bridge, where the Revolu- 
tionary patriots shed their first blood in the great contest for independence ; 
and we make the journey to Yorktown that we may stand upon the soil of 
the last battlefield of our forefathers' struggle for independence and liberty 
— where the sunlight of freedom finally dispelled the last cloud of doubt, 
and baptized a new-born nation. 

The reading of our memorable Declaration of Independence, breath- 
ing forth as it does the spirit of defiance, and announcing the foundation 
principles of human liberty, continues to enthuse and inspire each new 
generation of our people. The impassioned speeches of Patrick Henry and 
Otis and Adams, the great Revolutionary orators, are to our school 
children just as inspiring as they were to those of the generation imme- 
diately after the close of the Revolution. Lincoln's speech on the battle- 
field of Gettysburg, in the beauty of its diction and charm of expression 
the equal of the famous orations of Pericles, will ever continue to inspire 
the youth of America with its sublime patriotism, and impress upon them 
the lasting obligations due to you and your comrades. 

Today we look down a vista of two hundred and fifty years to the in- 
corporation of this ancient town. Within that period is more than one 
hundred years of colonial history, and the entire life of the Republic. We 
go back to within a generation of the landing at Plymouth — to the scat- 
tered settlements along the coast — to the little clearing in the wilderness, 
the blockhouse, the fort, the rude and lonely cabin. The English race was 
then landing on the New England shore — men of courage, firm resolve and 
high purpose. They were here to conquer nature, to build their homes, to 
govern themselves, and to found a nation. They were of the best yeomanry 
of England, in whose veins coursed the blood of an ancestry as valiant 
and as brave as the world ever saw. To them the greatest blessing was 
civil and religious liberty and for that they were willing to undergo hard- 

59 



ship and endure privation. They brought with them their wives and chil- 
dren, for they had come to stay. They were prepared to defend their 
homes with their Hves. They endured years of massacre and war; their 
breasts were filled with anxiety and frequently with sorrow; they saw 
their wives and children struck down by the tomahawk of the Indian, but 
never for one brief moment did their resolute hearts grow faint. The 
savage of the forests slowly but surely yielded to these men of iron will. 
The Puritan was a soldier — he possessed the great qualities requisite for 
the man of arms. His sires had fought at Naseby and Marston Moor. He 
belonged to an age of conflict and revolution, when men shed their blood 
for the advancement of political and moral reforms. The early settlers of 
Massachusetts, liberty-loving. God-fearing men, were nevertheless pos- 
sessed of a military spirit, which was theirs both by inheritance and educa- 
tion. 

With these Puritans was the beginning of the American soldier. His 
record extends over a period of nearly three centuries. Measured bj' both 
physical and moral qualities, he stands the best soldier the world has pro- 
diiced. The conditions t:nder which he has lived have been most favora- 
ble to the development of the brave and efficient soldier; he has ever been 
under the inspiration of a land of freedom. His duty since the close of the 
French and Indian wars has been to serve the people, and not the king. 
During the first two centuries he fought for the defense of home and liberty. 
In the civil war he fought for the preservation of the Union which the sol- 
dier of the Revolution had created and defended with his life blood . In 
the Spanish war he was but asserting the great principles of freedom and 
humanity which had actual ed the American people from the landing at 
Jamestown and Plymouth. 

Between 1620 and 1640, some 26,000 English people landed on the 
Massachusetts shore. They were all Puritans — they belonged to a mili- 
tant and masterful race. They were of a religious character, but of a 
revolutionary spirit. They were the product of nearly two centuries of 
agitation and revolution in the mother country. The currents of thought 
in England at the beginning of the 17th century were in the direction of 
greater religious and personal freedom, which they could not easily obtain 
in their native land. It was a great undertaking — it required courage and 
patience of the highest quality. They were undertaking the subjugation 
of a continent; they were planting the church in the wilderness; they 
were attempting the new experiment of local self-government. They 
were surrounded by common dangers and actuated by common hopes. 
Every man, if need be, must be a soldier. For more than a century the 
early settlers were involved in Indian wars. These surroundings and con- 
ditions developed in a wonderful degree. the martial spirit of the colonists. 
The men who gathered on Lexington green and at Concord bridge were 

60 



not trained soldiers, but they possessed, by inheritance at least, the essen- 
tial qualities for conflict. At Bunker Hill they displayed qualities which 
excited the admiration of the British officers. Gen. Washington, on his way 
to take command of the Colonial army, learned of the battle of Bunker 
Hill and his first inquiry was, "Did the militia fight?" and when told how 
they had fought, he said, "Then the liberties of the country are safe." 

That was a great struggle between the colonists and the king. Seven 
long years of defeats and victories, weary marches, hunger and suffering, 
from Lexington to Yorktown, finally ending with a glorious victory for 
freedom and independence. In that contest the American soldier estab- 
lished the great truth "that governments derive their just powers from 
the consent of the governed." In that great war for independence this 
ancient town was loyally devoted to the cause. Her sons were at Bunker 
Hill, and followed the varying fortunes of the Revolution to its triumphant 
close. Today we would make renewed expressions of our deep obligations 
to the American soldier, who, more than a century ago, suffered and died 
for the great cause of civil liberty. "Of the thousands who shared the 
gloom and the glories of the seven sacred years, not one remains." Only 
the other day the last surviving soldier of the War of 1812 passed to his 
final reward. They are all gone, but the nation still lives and 80,000,000 
of people, free and happy, remember with gratitude the heroes of the 
Revolution. 

Well may we today remember the heroes of our second war with 
England, who fought for the rights of the American sailor and the freedom 
of the seas. Well may we remember the splendid army which carried our 
flag, within the memory of some present, triumphantly up the heights of 
Chapultepec. 

What shall I say to you, veterans of the Civil war? That war re- 
sulted in a final victory to the armies of the Union. The Union was saved; 
not one star was effaced from the fiag. The irrepressible conflict over 
slavery, which, for a half century, had agitated the country, was settled for 
all time, and human slavery, the bane of our national existence, was for- 
ever banished. All men stand free and equal xinder the sunlight of liberty. 
That war developed a spirit of magnanimity such as the world had never 
before witnessed. The victors breathed forth the spirit of forgiveness to 
the vanquished, and reached out a helping hand to the fallen foe. When 
Lee tendered his sword to Grant at Appomattox, the victorious general 
bade him return it to its scabbard, and permitted all the prisoners of war, 
upon taking the oath of allegiance, to return to their southern homes, with 
their horses and mules, saying that they would need them for the spring 
plowing. That war proved to the world the value and efficiency of the 
citizen soldier. I am speaking within bounds when I say that the army of 
the Union, at the close of the war, was, measured by efficiency, by courage 
and intelligence, the best the world has ever seen. 

61 



After the exercises, a substantial dinner was furnished to 
the Veterans with their wives and guests in the lower Town Hall. 
The catering was by Harris. 



CHILDREN'S DAY PROGRAMME. 

250th Anniversary of the Celebration of the Town of Chelms- 
ford, Massachusetts. 
1655-1905. 

Children's Day Program, Tuesday, May 30, 1905. 

9 a. m. Children assemble at school house. March to Cemetery with 
Veterans. 
10 a. m. Phonographic Concert in Pavilion, free to all. Mr. Chas. Nichols. 

12 M. Salute the Flag. 

12.15 p. M. Planting of Anniversary Tree on Common. Remarks by 
Rev. C. H. Ellis, Chairman School Comniittee. Singing, School 
Children. 
12.30 p. M. Collation in Pavilion, free to school children. 
1.15 P. M. Brief talk to the children, E. E. Spalding, Pasadena, Cal. 
1.30 p. M. Entertainment in Pavilion, free to all, bv Prof. F. O. Harrell, 

Magician and Entertainer. 
2.30 P. M. Ball Game, Fletcher's Field. Contestants: Clubs from 
North, Centre and West Villages. 

Sports on the Common. Standing Broad Jump, Running Broad 

Jump, Standing High Jump, Running High Jump, Putting Shot, 

220 Yard Dash, 440 Yard Dash. 

1st prize for each contest, $1.00; 2d prize for each contest, 50 cents. 

For the smaller children: Three Legged Race, Sack Race, Potato 

Race, Doughnut Race. Suitable prizes for all. 
The Hornbeam Hill Golf Club Links and Tennis Court will be open 

Tuesday afternoon. 
Special Cars for Children will leave the Common, North Chelmsford, 
at 7.45 a. m.; Center Street, East Chelmsford, at 7.45 a. m. Re- 
turning from the Centre, leave S. W. Parkhurst's store at 5 p. m. 

62 



At ten o'clock the pavilion was filled with well behaved child- 
ren waiting in pleasant anticipation of the entertainment provided 
for them. Mr. Charles Nichols fully satisfied them with se- 
lections on the Phonograph. 

Just before noon the school children assembled in front of 
the Town Hall, about the lofty pole on which the flag was dis- 
played at half mast — it being Memorial Day. A fresh breeze 
spread it out brightly against the blue sky, and at the last 
stroke of twelve, the flag was slowly raised to the top of the 
mast and hundreds of young people gave the salute. Then 
the band played "The Star Spangled Banner," and the child- 
ren enthusiastically gave their yell: C-H-E-L-M-S-F-0-R-D ! 
Rah! Rah! Rah! Chelmsford! 

Then came the planting of the tree — a young elm about 
twenty feet in height, straight and strong — at the entrance to 
the common near the flag pole. Miss Nora H. Brooke and 
Miss Anna C. Mackay supported the tree in place while Wm. 
E. Adams and Earl S. Lewis shoveled in the earth upon its 
roots. Mr. Frederick L. Kendall, Superintendent of Schools, 
made some appropriate remarks and the children sang "The 
Song of the Trees." Mr. Kendall then introduced Rev. C. 
H. Ellis, chairman of the School Committee, who made a short 
address on the significance of planting the tree. He said: 

You see how straight the elm is, which we have placed in the care of 
the warm earth, and how straight it rises toward the sky. The fibre of 
that tree is strong and compact, and it is emblematic of character. This 
is a symbol of peace and not of war. On the other side of the common is 
the monument, which recalls to us the fact that we took part in a great 
war. As we pass through this place each day, let us never fail to remem- 
ber as we look upon these two symbols, one of war and one of peace, that 
the latter stands for growth and strength of character, and let us all try 
to grow upward and outward, true to ourselves, true to our land, true to 
our God. 

Again the children were invited to the pavilion where 
dinner was provided for them in the shape of seven hundred 
boxes of food and the same number of boxes of ice cream. 
Mr. E. E. Spalding of Pasadena, Cal., then made an interesting 

63 



address to the children, who manifested their appreciation. 
Mr. Kendall then introduced the magician, who delighted 
their wondering minds with his tricks. The ball game at 2.30 
o'clock was on Fletcher's field. After drawing lots for the 
first contest, the Centre and North teams crossed bats, the 
former wining 13 to 7. The Centre boys then played with the 
West Chelmsford team who, by a score of 2 runs to 1, secured 
the trophy, a beautiful pennant. Selectman James P. Dun- 
igan was umpire. 

The sports on the common began at 3 o'clock and lasted 
for an hour and a half. The committee in charge included 
J. E. Warren, chairman; R. W. Emerson, Ralph Adams, Karl 
M. Perham, Fred Snow, Arthur H. Sheldon, Jr., Wilham H. 
Hall. 

The events had the element of excitement as they were 
run off, and the winners won applause as well as prizes. 
The prizes were taken in this manner: 

Standing broad jump — Won by Benjamin O'Hara, $1 ; second, Leroy 
Dutton, 50 cents. 

Running broad jump — Won by Michael ScoUan, $1; second, Fred 
Casey, 50 cents. 

Standing high jump — Won by Michael ScoUan, $1; second, Elias 
DeLahaye, 50 cents. 

Running high jump — Won by Michael ScoUan, $1 ; second, Benjamin 
O'Hara, 50 cents. 

Shot put — Won by Fred Casey, $1 ; second, Robert Russell, 50 cents. 

220 yard dash — Won by Fred Casey, $1; second, Michael ScoUan, 
50 cents. 

440 yard dash — Won by Elias DeLahaye, $1; second, Leroy Dutton, 
50 cents. 

Three-legged race — Won by Fred Carll and Henrik Paasche, mit and 
bat; second, Forrest Bullock and Elmer Smith. 

Sack race — Won by Napoleon Fadittee, catcher's mit; second, Wil- 
liam Shinkwin, ball. 

Potato race — Won by Napoleon Fadittee, ball. 

Doughnut race for girls — Won by Hannah Stewart, 50 cents; second, 
Lucy Comber, 25 cents. 

The judges were Ralph W. Emerson and William H. 
Quigley. Souvenir badges were given to each prize winner. 

64 



THE OLD FOLK'S CONCERT. 

The programme of the Old Folks' concert tells its own 
story, which was one of complete and enjoyable success, while 
the audience was large and appreciative. 

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot?" 

A Create Concerte 

by 

Ye Olde Folkes, 

at ye 

Towne Hall, 

in ye 

Middle of ye Towne of Chelmsford, 

Tuesday Night, Ye 30th day, oth Month, 

1905. 



In connection with the 250th Anniversary of the Town. 



YE PROGRAMME. 



Ye First Parte. 



1 Auld Lang Syne. 

2 Portland. 

3 New Jerusalem. 

4 Home Again. 

5 Reading — "Garfield's Ride." 

6 Jerusalem, My Glorious Home. 

7 Cousin Jedediah. 

8 Old Oaken Bucket. 



Mixed Quartette 
H. C. Leavenworth 

Mrs. J. F. Parker 
Quartette 



E. R. Wirt, A. M. Warren, W. C. Ward, E. B. Emerson. 
65 



Ye Second Parte. 

9 Before Jehovah's Awful Throne. 

10 David's Lamentation. 

11 Reading — "The Medley." H. C. Leavenworth 

12 Old Folks at Home. A. M. Warren 

13 Turner 

14 Soldiers' Farewell. Quartette 

E. R. Wirt, A. M. Warren, W. C. Ward, E. B. Emerson. 

15 Invitation. 

16 America. Audience Joining 

Ye Women Singers. — Martha Warren, Edith Wilson, Mabel Warren, 
Abby Ford, Louise Howard, Minnie Parkhurst, Alice Poore, Jessie 
Allen, (consort of ye singing master), Ethel Parker, Edith Parkhurst, 
Christina Robbins, Mabel Rice, Mildred Parkhurst, Alice Stearns, 
Rose Osterhout, Minnie Day, Frances Clark, Mary Raynes, Esther 
Douglass, Kate Knight, Carrie Bartlett, Emma George, Grace 
Perham, Emma Paasche, Ednah Parkhurst, Martha Fulton, 
Harriet Stewart, Carrie Ward, Helen Knowlton, Lottie Chapman, 
Zora Feindel. 

Ye Men Singers. — Grandsir Arthur Allen, Arthur Warren, James Byam, 
Edward Emerson, William Ward, Edward Robbins, Albert Davis, 
Winthrop Parkhurst, Thomas Harmon, Herbert Rice, Edward 
Stearns, Samuel Hagerman, Emile Paignon, Ralph Adams, Mister 
Albert Earnshaw, Walter Perham, Harry Parkhurst, Warren Berry. 

Ye Pipers and Fiddlers. — Doctor Amasa Howard, Fiddle; Willie 

Adams, Fiddle; Amos Adams, Clarionet; Thomas Parkhurst, Horn; 

Heady Parke (yeoman). Big Fiddle; Emma Parkhurst, Plays ye 

Piano. 

Ye doors will be open at earlie candle lyte. 

Ye fiddlers and pipers will tune up at a quarter before eight. 

Grandsir Allen will start ye singing at eight of ye clock and will keep 
ye choir to tyme. He will wear his new clothes wh he will fetch up from 
ye Bay for ye greate occasion. 

Ye Comtt desire that all heads of families direct their children to 
be orderlie in their going in and out of their seats, and that they may 
indulge in no unseemlie levitie to disturbe ye singers. 

Because of ye well known infirmities of some of ye old folkes, ye 
tythingmen will see that no rum or flip be allowed in ye Towne House. 

66 



WEDNESDAY. 

The last and crowning day of the Celebration was every- 
thing that could be desired in the way of propitious conditions. 

The excursions were left to the preference and convenience 
of visitors. Those who desired, visited the historic places in 
different parts of the town, or moved again among the familiar 
scenes of former days. 

The concert on the common by the Salem Cadet Band 
was, perhaps, the attraction of the morning, the crowd of 
some three thousand people giving their attention to that and 
the historical exhibit close at hand. 

At one o'clock about six hundred and fifty persons sat 
down to dinner in the pavilion. The Salem Cadet Band fur- 
nished the music. The speakers' stand on the large platform 
was decorated with the national colors. At the centre of the 
table on the platform, on either side of the chairman, were the 
Hon. George A. Harden, assistant Treasurer of the United 
States at Boston, representing the National Government, and 
the Hon. John D. Long, former Governor of Massachusetts and 
ex-Secretary of the Navy, representing the Commonwealth. 
Others on the platform were the Hon. Levi S. Gould, chairman 
of the County Commissioners, representing Middlesex County; 
the Hon. Butler Ames, representing the Fifth Congressional 
District; Senator Edwards Cheney and ex-Senator Herbert E. 
Fletcher; Representatives Hayes, Westall, Hilton and Rolfe 
Bradbury; Mayor James B. Casey of Lowell, the Hon. S. P. 
Hadley, the Hon. Solon W. Stevens, District Attorney George 
A. Sanderson, Willard Parker, M. D., of New York, Edward 
E. Spalding, Esq., of Pasadena, Cal., Amos F. Adams, Esq., of 
Newton, donor of the Adams Library, Mr. A. E. Winship of Boston, 
Prof. Charles F. Emerson, Dean of Dartmouth College, Mr. 
Granville S. Webster of Boston, Rev. C. E. Fisher of Lowell, 
Lieutenant William J. Quigley, Messrs. Stewart Mackay, 

67 



G. A. Spalding and Wm. H. Shedd, the Selectmen of Chelmsford, 
the chairmen of the Selectmen of Westford, Dracut, Tyngsboro, 
Carlisle, Billerica and Dunstable. 

At the other tables were many persons of note, among 
them being Mr. Wellington Pool, for many years clerk of the 
town of Wenham, whence came the first settlers of Chelmsford. 
Mrs. Hannah M. (Adams) Byam, aged 92, the oldest living 
native of Chelmsford, was escorted to the platform, where 
with her were the representatives of three later generations 
of her family. 

The dinner was excellent and well served by thirty waiters, 
under the direction of the D. L. Page Co. 

The sides of the tent were raised and a pleasant breeze 
freshened the atmosphere, while at intervals the Salem Cadet 
Band played selections which added much to the enjoyment 
of the occasion. 

When all were seated, the chairman, welcoming the com- 
pany, said: 
Sons and Daughters of Chelmsford:- 

It is my pleasant privilege to welcome you here with your invited 
guests on this closing day of our celebration. Many of you have returned 
from far to rejoice with us and to share in the congratulations and the con- 
viviality of the hour, and honored men have come to grace our feast and 
give t:s flow of soul. 

About us we can imagine the host of those who in the past have been 
the active citizens of this place, and can feel their presence near. 

Heaven has indeed smiled upon our anniversary. This is the bridal 
day of earth and sky. It is fitting that we should acknowledge the good- 
ness of God and ask His blessing on us now. 

The pastor of the historic First Congregational Society, 
the Rev. A. D. K. Shurtleff, at the request of the chairman, 
asked the blessing. 

When the dinner was over, the public were admitted to 
the tent. Nearly 2,000 listened to the speaking. 

68 



The chairman rose and said: 

Four delightful commemoration days have almost passed into the 
history of our town. They have been filled with the fragrance of the past. 
What historical suggestiveness has been theirs! What memories have 
been awakened! What pleasant reunions with their glad greetings they 
have brought us! Our hearts have thrilled with pardonable pride as we 
have realized somewhat of the life of the past, of the character and sturdy 
worth of the men and women who have made Chelmsford what it is today, 
of the strong, upright lives of past generations, whom we claim for ances- 
tors and predecessors. And we feel grateful also that these commemora- 
tive days have been, in the character of their proceedings, worthy of the 
people and events whose spirit they have caught. 

The religious services in the churches and in the pavilion, which fitly 
opened our anniversary, were of a highly appropriate character. All of us 
are ready to accord just thanks and praise to the General Committee for 
the highly efficient manner in which all the arrangements have been made 
and carried out. On Monday we heard the able and suggestive address 
by the President of the day, and the easy and graceful address of welcome 
by the Chairman of the Selectmen, with the very interesting response by 
the Dean of Dartmouth College— and then the masterly historical address 
which followed. The delightftil performance of the band has added much 
to our enjoyment. 

As chairman of the committee on arrangement of the Historical Ex- 
hibit, I desire to give the credit of that most interesting and valuable 
feature of the anniversary to those who collected and arranged the arti- 
cles; for, with the exception of a few general directions, I purposely re- 
frained from suggestions, knowing that the taste and judgment of the 
other members of the committee were at least equal to my own. It has 
been a great pleasure to come into such congenial and harmonious rela- 
tions with them. The exhibit has been praised on all sides as exception- 
ally fine. 

The reception to home comers and the Memorial Day exercises, the 
address and the fine singing of the children were most creditable. The 
concert in the evening and the excursions have given pleasure to all. 
Everything has been conducted on a high plane of excellence. The press 
should be mentioned, especially the Lowell Citizen, as having given good 
reports of the proceedings. And as we still linger here to listen to those 
who are to speak to us this afternoon, we must first read some regrets. 

Cordial congratulations with regrets from the President 
of the United States were read by the toastmaster, also from 
the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, and from Ex-Governors 
Bates, Crane and Brackett, and others. 

69 



He also referred to the numerous letters received from 
old Chelmsford residents, in various parts of the country, 
from Maine to Oregon, expressing their strong affection for 
the old town, and deep regret that they could not be present. 
Interesting extracts were read from a few of these. 

Letter from the Mayor of Chelmsford, Essex, England. 

Maynetrees, Chelmsford, 26 April, 1905. 

Dear Sir: 

I have been hoping that I should be able to accept your very kind 
invitation to the celebration of the Quarter Millennial Anniversary of the 
Incorporation of your Town. Alas! the distance and time form an 
impassable barrier. It is very kind of you to offer hospitality of which, 
unfortunately, I cannot possibly avail myself. Allow me to wish the 
celebration every success. We shall think of you, and offer heartiest 
greetings on the four appointed days. I will send over to you, as you 
reqviest, one or more specimens of our native trees. With repeated thanks 
and assurance of the peculiar interest which we take in your prosperity, 

Very truly yours, 

Walter Payne Gepp, Mayor. 
Walter Perham, Esq., Chairman of Selectmen, 

Chelmsford, Massachusetts. 

Letter from the Rector of Chelmsford. 

Chelmsford, May 15. 

Dear Mr. Waters: 

May I write to thank you for your very kind letter. I, indeed, wish 
that it were possible for some one from the old home to be with you at 
your commemoration; but I fear that it is not possible. Perhaps the 
old blood is not so enterprising as the new, but it is very difficult to leave 
the work here for so long a time as a visit to Massachusetts implies. May 
I, as Rector of Chelmsford in the old Country, offer all who are taking 
part in your Commemoration, the very best wishes. We shall think of 
you, and trust that, as such a Commemoration must be a link between 

70 



all, so it may be a help on to further progress, social, moral, religious. 
I shall like very much to see a paper of your arrangements as it will enable 
me to put a short account in our Magazine, which will help to bring it 
to the notice of our people generally. I am sending one or two specimen 
photos in this envelope. This will, I hope, give a slight idea of the old 
town. 

Yours sincerely, 

H. A. Lake, 

Rector of Chelmsford, England. 
Honorary Canon of St. Albans. 
The Rev. Wilson Waters, 

Chelmsford, Massachusetts, U. S. A. 

The chairman also read two cablegrams, received from 
Mayor Gepp to Mr. Walter Perham, "Best Wishes"; and from 
the Rev. Henry A. Lake to the Rev. Wilson Waters, "Con- 
gratulations." 

Much of the speaking which followed was in the lighter 
vein, and there was some verbal sharp-shooting, especially 
between the toastmaster, Mr. Marden, and Governor Long, 
which the audience evidently enjoyed; but the tons mots, the 
sallies of wit, and pleasant anecdotes which drew forth laughter 
and applause cannot well be reproduced, nor can justice be 
done to the speakers. What is here given may serve, how- 
ever, to refresh the memory of those who had the pleasure of 
hearing them. 

The Hon. George A. Marden was the first gentleman in- 
troduced, and with his characteristic wit and humor responded 
to the toast, "The National Government." He claimed to 
be present by right of descent, having had an ancestor named 
Chamberlain who was born in Chelmsford, but who moved to 
Billerica. "He is sorry for it now; but he partly made up for 
it by going to Concord." Mr. Marden then gave the substance 
of an alleged wireless message from President Roosevelt, re- 
ceived on Robin's Hill, in which he reviewed about all of the 
great public questions supposed to be agitating the mind of 
the President, and settled them to the amused satisfaction of 

71 



himself and the audience. In the matter of ships that will be 
needed at the Isthmus, it was reported that the problem had 
been solved by the Russians, who were going to give us a num- 
ber of vessels, as they had no use for them. In regard to the 
railroad rate question, that would be settled — at any rate. 
"But I want to say," he reported of the President, "that I 
think we can trust it to the Chelmsford people to guard the 
all-important question of race suicide." 

Mr. Marden had claimed that he was badly treated by the 
chairman, who, he said, had shifted him about on the pro- 
gramme until finally he had settled him in first place, because 
he could get no one else to take that position. The chairman 
retaliated by saying that he was glad that Mr. Marden was 
settled at last, and by relating an anecdote of a congressman 
whose colleague said he was the only man he knew who could 
set his mouth a working and then go away and leave it for an 
hour. "But, of course," he said, "this cannot refer to Mr. 
Marden, because, as you have noticed, when he sets his mouth 
a going, he has to stand right behind it all the time. 

"I did not wish to put a time limit on the representative 
of the National Government, but as there is a long list of speak- 
ers, and some of them are long-winded, I will ask them to 
occupy about ten minutes each. When I went with Mr. 
Bartlett to invite Governor Douglas to the banquet, he re- 
plied, 'I am a shoemaker and not a speechmaker.' We all 
admire the excellent qualities of the Governor and his shoes, 
and it is a good thing to have such a man at the head of the 
Commonwealth in these strenuous times, which try men's 
soles. I regret that he cannot be here to speak. 

"When we have a name given with two or three X's attach- 
ed to it, we at once conclude that it carries with it Ex-tra- 
ordinary Ex-cellence. We have with us today an Ex-Secretary 
of the Navy, who is also an Ex-Governor, a man who is not 
only able, but who has actually stood in Governor Douglas' 
shoes. I introduce to you His Ex-Excellency, John D. Long, 
who will speak for the Commonwealth." 

72 



Governor Long said it was not fair to limit the speakers 
to ten minutes when the toastmaster himself had already 
talked thirteen and a half minutes. "He is mistaken, I have 
never stood in Governor Douglas' shoes. I buy mine at 

's on Street, and I expect to get a discount on the 

next pair, in consideration of this notice. 

"I regret that Governor Douglas is not present. He has 
conducted himself in a manner to command favorable atten- 
tion while performing the duties of his office. A chief magistracy 
held with so much good sense and character, has commended 
itself to the people of this state. I have no hesitation in saying 
this, although I speak as a Republican, especially inasmuch as 
Governor Douglas has announced that he will not again be a 
candidate for the office of Governor. I regret also that the 
duties of his office prevent Lieutenant-Governor Guild being 
present. It is too bad that the Governor cannot be here to 
speak for himself. My position is like that of the comrade in 
the ranks, who was perhaps less distinguished than the rest, 
the substitute who went to war and received a bounty. I 
am a substitute for the State Executive today, but I only get 
my dinner out of it. 

I once taught school in your beautiful neighboring town 
of Westford, which was formerly a part of Chelmsford. When 
the movement was made to set off Westford as a separate 
town, it was voted in town meeting that the people of that 
part of Chelmsford were not competent to govern themselves. 
I feel at home in Chelmsford, because some of her able sons, 
J. Adams Bartlett, Henry S. Perham, Prof. Charles F. Emerson, 
and others present here today, w-ere pupils of mine in Westford 
Academy. The success which these men have met in life has 
been due to the tuition I gave them. 

"You are the men and women who represent the character 
of Massachusetts. You do well to celebrate your two hundred 
and fiftieth anniversary, for you celebrate the foundation of 
the nation. All honor to our forefathers who founded the old 

73 



towns of this Commonwealth. They were leaders in all that 
was best in any community. All other civilizations have 
developed from conditions of barbarism. It is singular that 
our founders began at the summit. They began with the 
school, the church, the militia and the home, four corner-stones. 
They had the same patriotism, the same love, the same de- 
votion to their young, the same loyalty to principle that 
characterizes the church of our fathers. We shall do well to 
keep these principles. If the men of the towns continue in 
the ways of the fathers, they will have great influence in pro- 
moting the welfare of the state and nation." 

The Hon. Levi S. Gould was introduced, and spoke for 
"Middlesex County." He said in part : 

The date "1630" on the county seal refers rather to the arrival of 
Gov. Winthrop with the new charter, than to the incorporation of the 
county, which was not accomplished until May 10th, 1643. At that time, 
Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Wobum, Med- 
ford and Lynn Village (later on Reading) constituted the entire county, 
with a wilderness stretching to the westward far beyond the knowledge 
of man. Those five original towns have increased to 43 towns and eleven 
cities, teeming with a population of 600,000 souls, unexcelled in intelli- 
gence, industry, sobriety, patriotism and the practice of the arts. For 
the inspiration which has developed such stupendous results, we must 
turn to the moral and religious sentiments of the early fathers. 

Whatever may have been accomplished in the matter of local self- 
government by the settlers at Jamestown and the Pilgrim fathers at 
Plymouth, at an earlier date, pales into insignificance as factors in the 
establishment of liberty through the principles of universal suffrage, when 
compared with that first meeting, August 23, 1630, in the cabin of the 
governor's ship "Arabella" in Charlestown harbor, out of which was 
evolved, and established a few weeks later, the general court of the 
commonwealth, which to this day has continued as the palladium of the 
rights of all the people and a beacon light of liberty throughout the land. 
In all the preliminaries attending the establishment of a permanent form 
of government by Gov. Winthrop and the company of Puritans associ- 
ated with him the arena was principally in Middlesex county, and the 
actors therein were largely her citizens. 

74 



By the infinite wisdom of Almighty God, these men, with others who 
followed, were directed to these rugged and inhospitable shores, to erect 
in ancient Middlesex, through the utmost extremity of faith and long 
suffering, a commonwealth wherein the life that led to rigid purity in 
thought and action was the essential element. Should we wonder, then, 
that they adopted as the groundwork of civil policy, "that none should be 
admitted to the freedom of the body politic but such as were church 
members?" They endeavored to pattern their humble lives after the 
example of him who died on Calvary, but the foundations of the law they 
executed, rested upon the divine message which thundered from Sinai. 

John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, once 
said, "I would rather have one drop of Puritan blood in my veins than all 
the blood which ever flowed in the veins of kings and princes. Those 
only deserve to be remembered by posterity who treasure up the history 
of their ancestors." 

In closing, I give, as a sentiment, Middlesex county — famous in his- 
tory, song and story, as the birthplace of American independence; 
renowned alike for the bravery and hardihood of those who established 
and defended her settlements as outposts of civilization, and later on, 
for the heroism of those sturdy yeomen and immortal women who kindled 
fires of patriotism which swept across the seas to illumine and enlighten 
the oppressed and benighted of other lands. True to her ancient record, 
may she ever stand, a center of culture and refinement, where liberty, 
restrained by the dictates of civil and religious law, shall continue as the 
basis of rational freedom. 

Congressman Butler Ames made an interesting speech, 
in which he recalled the fact that he could claim a descent 
from Chelmsford through Sergeant Richard Hildreth. He 
spoke at some length on the race characteristics of those born 
in the tropics and in the temperate zones and said that the 
type of New England character found in Chelmsford had the 
stern virtues produced by hard toil in the past. 

It is a matter of regret that it is impossible to give a more 
extended report of his speech. 

Mayor James B. Casey responded to the toast "The City 
of Lowell:" 

As chief executive of the city of Lowell, it affords me great pleasvire 
to extend, on behalf of the citizens of Lowell, congratulations to the town 
of Chelmsford on this memorable occasion. Chelmsford is our neighbor, 

75 



and between us there is that friendly feeling which all neighbors should 
have. But there is a closer and a stronger bond of union between the 
communities — a family tie: for Lowell is the offspring of Chelmsford, a 
worthy child of a worthy parent. Though the infant has grown big and 
powerful, occupying a high place in the industrial world, still she remem- 
bers her young days — the days when she was dependent upon the town 
of Chelmsford. 

Celebrating a 250th anniversary is something to boast of. You made 
a good beginning on Sunday when yoii opened your exercises with a grand 
union service in which all the Chvirches of the town participated. Differ- 
ences of creed and doctrine were forgotten, and a striking object lesson 
of religious tolerance was exemplified — an ideal illustration of the harmony 
which should exist among all believers in God. 

The Church was entitled to open the observance, because the Church 
is the most important factor for good in any community. 

His Honor then spoke eloquently of the history of Chelms- 
ford in Colonial times, in the Revolution and in the Civil War, 
of the bravery and pluck of her citizens, of their hardships 
in the early days, their honest. God-fearing lives, and con- 
cluded with some very complimentary remarks upon the beau- 
tiful and picturesque appearance of the town, and the fine 
character of its inhabitants. 

Citizens of Chelmsford, the people of Lowell are proud of you; proud 
that we once were of you; we congratulate you, and pray that your future 
will be as brilliant, as glorious, as your first 250 years. 

The toastmaster here related a story of some men who 
were traversing the Maine forests and came upon a cabin with 
the sign, "Half-way House" oyer the door. They found an old 
hunter within, and asked him the meaning of the sign. "Well," 
he said, "it isn't half-way from anywhere that I know of, but 
you see there is a lot of these city fellows wandering around 
here with their guns, and don't know where they're a-goin' 
to, and it's a sort of consolation to them to know they've got 
half way there." "So don't be discouraged, my friends, I don't 
know just where we're going, but we are about half way through 
the list of speakers." 

Mr. Edward E. Spalding of Pasadena, Cal., a former resi- 
dent of the town, then spoke for Chelmsford, and said that 
Chelmsford was a good town to go from. When you get away 

76 



the perspective lends enchantment to the view. "I hope 
we have the same energy and enterprise and the same spirit 
that our fathers had," said he. "Some say that the spirit has 
deteriorated, but if it has here, I want you to understand that 
Chelmsford blood has gone into every part of the United States. 
If, then, there is less of it here, there is more of it in New Or- 
leans, more of it in California, and it will be the leaven to per- 
meate the entire mass." 

Mr. Spalding paid a high tribute to the character and 
memory of Dr. Willard Parker and his mother, as represent- 
ative of Chelmsford people of other days. 

Dr. Willard Parker of New York, son of the above men- 
tioned celebrated New York physician, on being introduced 
said: 

Your Reverence and Ladies and Gentlemen: — 

"Laugh, and the World laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone." 

I rejoice with you cordially on this daj' of gladness, but when I recall 
that, on all my previous visits to Chelmsford, my father, your fellow-towns- 
man. Dr. Willard Parker, was with me; when I think how thoroughly 
happy he would have been today, I cannot but feel sad that I am here, 
not with him, but to speak in his place. 

I am touched, deeply touched, by the graceful and lovely tribute 
just paid by Mr. Spalding. Yesterday we were strangers; today I count 
myself honored to be numbered among his friends, and, in behalf of my 
sisters and myself, I want sincerely to thank him. 

When Mr. Waters asked me to "saj' something," he suggested (he 
is, I believe, a bachelor), that I say (I am not a bachelor) something "to 
the ladies." I will try to do so, later on, following out, however, the 
spirit of Mr. Spalding's speech. I think that one or two personal anec- 
dotes of my father may, from me, not be amiss. 

He was essentially a self-made man, but, in his struggles for success, 
maintained a singularly selfless regard for others' feelings, others' rights. 
His mother, Hannah Clark, sympathized with and helped him in his earlier 
struggles for an education. His love for her until her death, at more than 
four-score years, was peculiarly strong and tender. 

Every Sunday while studying in Cambridge, he tried to spend at his 
home with her. The fare on the canal was fifty cents; to save this, he 
usually walked both ways. 

77 



His mother gave him, when he went to college, his linen and bed- 
clothes; he had to buy, out of his savings from teaching, his furniture. 
He bought in Boston, a cot — second hand— for two dollars and a half, but 
found that it would cost an equal amount to have it carted out to 
Harvard; he waited until the cool of evening, and carried it out on his 
shoulders. This was the keynote of his character and temperament, the 
factor that brought success. Later, in speaking of this experience, he 
used to say that before he reached the college, the cot got awfully heavy. 

His death in his 84th year was a fit ending of a life such as was his ; 
the work was finished, not interrupted ; he lived to see most of its achieve- 
ment. After the harvest, he was at rest. Again, I thank Mr. Spalding 
for the tribute paid to his memory today. 

Now, a few words for "The Ladies," this being one of the rare occa- 
sions when circumstances prevent their speaking for themselves. 

My experience at Chelmsford has been most pleasant. 

In a memorial window in a church near my home, is the text, "I was 
a stranger, and ye took me in," The widow, who gave it as a tribute to 
her husband, failed to recognize the fact that, in life, he had been some- 
what sharp in business methods; others did — and smiled. Here, I have 
been "taken in" by a most attractive hostess, to a lovely home. My mem- 
ories of Chelmsford will be always bright and pleasant. 

Sir Walter Scott wrote: 

"Oh Woman, in our hours of ease, 
Uncertain, coy, and hard to please; 
When pain and anguish wring the brow, 
A ministering angel, thou." 

Robert Burns, a man of singular antitheses of character, not always 
a model of propriety, wrote: 

"He tried his 'prentice hand on man, 
And then he made the lasses, oh!" 

In writing this, he perhaps anticipated the Yankee love for 'lasses 
and water. 

Harriet Beecher Stowe, than whom no more tender, lovely writer 
ever pictured our old New England life, in "Old Town Folks," tells of a 
spinster aunt giving her views on obedience in, and the discipline of, child- 
ren, as suggested by the mischief of an orphan nephew. The aged grand- 
mother interrupts with, "Fiddlesticks, what a boy of that age wants is 
mothering." 

In my early school days, one of my school-fellows read, one Friday, 
a composition on "Mother, Home and Heaven." The week foUow'ng, 
we boys, a hundred or more, attended the funeral of that yearning, mother- 
less boy — motherless no longer. 

78 



After all, is not woman's highest, loveliest, earthly mission summed 
up in the Scriptural quotation, " As one whom his mother comforteth." 

Friends, I again thank you for the honor you have paid me, the 
courtesy you have shown — God bless you all — good bye. 

The toastmaster next introduced the Hon. Solon W. 
Stevens, president of the Lowell Historical Society, who, after 
humorously alluding to himself as a descendant of Chelms- 
ford from the fact that he was born in Lowell, and Lowell 
was once a part of Chelmsford, spoke in an eloquent and in- 
teresting manner of Lowell as a city which is prosperous, not 
alone on account of its varied business and manufacturing 
interests, but because of its well established public school 
system, and because it had endeavored to inculcate and to 
cultivate the principles and practice of art and music among 
its children and its citizens. He alluded to its remarkable 
growth as a town from its incorporation in 1826, and to its 
rapid development as a city from the date of its incorporation 
as a city in 1836. In this connection he mentioned once hear- 
ing Mr. Edward Everett apply to Lowell a quotation from 
Milton's poem, when he described it as a city which like "the 
lion, had sprung from the ground." 

It has always been the aim of the citizens of Lowell, the 
speaker said, to foster the arts which like music, tend to soften 
the asperities of life, and which appeal to the higher nature, 
thus exemplifying, in some degree, the saying of a distinguish- 
ed writer, "take care of the beautiful, and the useful will take 
care of itself." 

Senator Fletcher responded for the town of Westford. 

Mr. Toastmaster, Neighbors and Friends: — 

It gives me much pleasure to join with you in celebrating this im- 
portant day in the history of Chelmsford, and representing Westford, the 
elder daughter of Chelmsford. I bring to you greetings, and best wishes 
for the continuance of those friendly and harmonious relations which 
have existed since the Great and General Court gave to us a separate 
existence as a town. 

79 



In the old days, there was but one meeting house in the town, and 
the people of the westerly part were obliged to travel to Chelmsford to 
attend church. The way was long and attended with difficulty and dan- 
ger, in consequence of which there arose a demand for a church on West- 
ford Hill, which was denied, and a controversy started which resulted 
in a division — a new town with its own meeting house. 

A week since, the land was suffering for want of rain; the grass with- 
ered, the leaves drooped, clouds of dust filled the air, and all nature seemed 
strained and out of adjustment. 

During the night we were awakened by the crash of thunder to 
witness a mighty battle in the heavens, and soon there followed the peace- 
ful and refreshing rain, bringing new life to every living thing. 

May we not say that, as out of the strife in the heavens there came 
peace to earth, so, out of the strife over church matters in the old days, 
came the peace and harmony which have existed between these two towns 
these many generations. 

The toastmaster said there was once a home-comer who 
was inquiring about his old acquaintances, among whom was 
John Smith, a slow, sleepy fellow, and he asked, "How is my 
old neighbor, John Smith, getting on? Is he alive yet?" And 
they said, "No, not yet." 

"Now we want to hear from the town of Billerica. We 
have had a celebration; Billerica has not. Still Billerica 
and Chelmsford are twins, born on the same day. We all 
admire the topographical and architectural beauties of our 
neighbor, who sends to us today Mr. Charles H. Kohlrausch, 
Jr., chairman of the selectmen of Billerica." Mr. Kohlrausch, 
said; 

Mr. Toastmaster and Townspeople of Chelmsford: — 

I rise to offer no apology for Billerica. She needs none; her past 
has been an honorable one, and her future is liable to be such. I never 
knew of any one who ever resided within her borders, who desired to go 
elsewhere, except it be the person alluded to by Mr. Marden. As the 
official representative of the good old Town of Billerica, I bring you her 
congratulations on this, Chelmsford's 250th birthday. Twins they were 
at their birth, together they have journeyed through the years, and have 
made for themselves honorable places in the noble sisterhood of towns 
of Middlesex, and of the grand old Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
And so, even as Chelmsford and Billericay, the ancient towns of themother 
country, have, side by side, come down the centuries together, so may 

80 




INTERIOR OF THE PAVILION 




BEGINNING OF THE BANQUET 



our Chelmsford and Billerica go down the pathway of time hand in hand 
with no difference ever arising between them, save that noble contention 
of which best can do the work assigned her. Chelmsford, Billerica greets 
you! 

Mr. A. E. Winship made an address on "Our Educational 
Interests," which was able and interesting, but of which no 
report could be obtained. 

The speaking occupied about two hours. The spirit 
pervading the whole occasion was so deHghtful, and the ban- 
quet had been so like a love-feast, that, at the close of the 
speaking, the chairman rose and pronounced a blessing upon 
the assembled company, who seemed to be expecting it. 

The bells were rung at sundown. 

Concert and Reception. 

Members of the general committee with their wives, held 
a reception in the Town Hall, from eight until ten o'clock, 
during which the orchestra gave a number of concert selec- 
tions. Those who received were Mr. and Mrs. J. Adams Bart- 
lett, Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Perham, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph 
E. Warren, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur H. Sheldon, Mr. and Mrs. 
H. L. Parkhurst, and Mr. Erastus A. Bartlett. 

The Anniversary Ball. 

The closing scene of the celebration was one of beauty 
and festivity. The interior of the Town Hall was transformed 
into a bower of delicate and artistic decoration. It was evident- 
ly the purpose of those who took part in the occasion to make 
it a success, and thus bring the Celebration to a happy ter- 
mination. The evening was perfect, the attendance large, 
and the Salem Cadet Orchestra all that could be desired. 

Shortly after ten o'clock the grand march was played 
by the orchestra, and was led by the committee and their 
ladies. There were about forty couples in the march and 
a large number of spectators in the gallery and other parts of 
the hall, including many of the prominent men and women 
who had taken part in the previous events of the celebration. 

81 



The dancing continued until two o'clock, the restaurant re- 
maining open for the benefit of the dancers. The order of 
dances was daintily printed and enclosed in a cover bearing 
an appropriate design significant of home-coming and hos- 
pitality. 

ANNIVERSARY BALL. 

Chelmsford, Mass., May 31, 1905. 

Music: Salem Cadet Orchestra. 



Order Of Dances. 



1 March and AValtz 

2 schottische 

3 Quadrille 

4 Two Step 

5 Virginia Reel 

6 Waltz 

7 Quadrille 

8 Two Step 

9 Schottische 

10 Lady Washington's Reel 



Loveland 

O. B. Joyful 

Legion of Honor 

Laces and Graces 

Favorite 

In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree 

Merry Midnighters 

Bunker Hill 

Under the Banana Tree 







INTERMISSION. 






11 


Two Step 






2nd Reg't Conn. 


12 


Waltz Quadrille 






Yours Always 


13 


Galop 






A Bit o' Blarney 


14 


Portland Fancy 




In 


the Good Old Style 


15 


Waltz 






Sweet Adeline 


16 


Lanciers 






Gaiety 


17 


Two Step 






Yankee Grit 


18 


Schottische 






Shame on You 


19 


Two Step 






Little Johnny Jones 


20 


Waltz 


extras 


A 


Dream of Paradise 


1.. 




2 








General Manager, J. Adams Bartlett 

Floor Director, Harry L. Parkhurst 

Aids, Chas. E. Bartlett, Wm. A. Ingham, Paul Dutton, John C. 

Varney, John F. Shaw, Wm. H.Shedd, Joseph E. Marshall 

John B. Emerson. 



82 



HISTORIC HOUSES AND SITES. 



Site of Wm. Fletcher house — 1654 — first town meeting. 

Site of first school house — 1718. 

Site of Col. Samson Stoddard house. 

Chelmsford Classical school — 1825. 

Rev. Hezekiah Packard house. 

Parsonage, Rev. Ebenezer Bridge; Rev. Samson Stoddard. 

Site of Lieutenant Col. Moses Parker house — 1775. 

Site of North school house — 1720. 

Site of Emerson homestead — Dr. Anthony Emery. 

Site of Dr. Rufus Wyman house— 1805-1818. 

Site of first sawmill — 1656. 

"South Row" school house — 1801. 

South End school house — 1753. 

Home of Dr. Willard Parker, L L D. 

Site of First Baptist meeting house — 1772. 

Site of old match shop — 1835. 

Hayward Garrison house. 

Jonathan Spalding house — 1761. 

Site of second sawmill — 1669. 

Site of Daniel Waldo sawmill — 1695. 

Captain William Adams house — 1794. 

Old Tavern stand. 

Site of Garrison house — 1675. 

Site of Joseph Spalding house — 1775. 

Warren homestead^l 703- 1888. 

Col. Simeon Spaulding house — 1775. 

Perham Farm, settled 1664. Nine generations. 



83 



